April 2020 Tax Season Filing Tips

2020: The year April 15 didn't matter.

If this were a normal tax season (or a normal year, for that matter), right about now millions of taxpayers would be freaking out. The April 15 Tax Day would be bearing down.

No longer.

The coronavirus exploded exponentially across the United States in March, prompting, among other actions, myriad tax changes. The biggest, at least as far as affecting the broadest swath of taxpayers, is the decision by the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service to push April 15 Tax Day to July 15.

Yay! An extra 90 days to file our 2019 tax returns. That means we can direct all our usual April tax panic energy toward our social distancing and remote efforts.

But even amid your/our new COVID-19 routine, we still need to work on our taxes so that July 15 doesn't sneak up on us. Or to make whatever moves we can to make our 2020 taxes less painful.

So here goes, with the ol' blog's first ever full month of April tax filing season tips. As with its predecessors, these April pieces of tax advice are highlighted in the upper right corner of the ol' blog.

After their newly extended time in the spotlight, the April tips then will be permanently ensconced on this page. But that collection journey has to start with a first step, so here goes!

5 tax moves to make this abnormal April — It's April, but it's no longer the month in which our taxes are due. The coronavirus and our efforts to slow its spread have disrupted our tax and regular lives. But in an effort to try to hold onto some semblance of normalcy, here are five tax moves for these decidedly abnormal times. (April 1, 2020)
Retirees will get COVID-19 payments directly — After first saying senior citizens would have to file a special tax return to get COVID-19 payments, Treasury reversed course. The Internal Revenue Service now will send the money automatically to eligible Social Security recipients. (April 2, 2020)
Beware COVID-19 tax scams — The coronavirus economic relief payments are about to go out. The IRS warns that scammers already are looking at ways they can steal them. Don't fall for any of these COVID-19 cons. (April 3, 2020)

Just getting started on your taxes? No problem. You can find the previous months' collected tax wisdom by clicking the links below.

And yes, you can click on May, June and June, too, but you'll just find a guy telling you to whoa up. We're not there yet. Rest assured, those tips will be added as those months arrive.

January 2020 Filing Season Tax Tips

February 2020 Filing Season Tax Tips

March 2020 Filing Season Tax Tips

May 2020 Filing Season Tax Tips

June 2020 Filing Season Tax Tips

July 2020 Filing Season Tax Tips

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Filing Season Tax Tips

5 abnormal April tax moves — It's April, but it's no longer the month in which our taxes are due. The coronavirus and our efforts to slow its spread have disrupted our tax and regular lives. But in an effort to try to hold onto some semblance of normalcy, here are five tax moves for these decidedly abnormal times. (April 1, 2020)
Did you miss a tax tip posted above? No worries. They are, or eventually will be, collected in the 2020 Filing Season Tax Tips pages. That's usually January through mid-April, but this year is definitely unusual. The coronavirus' spread has pushed Tax Day 2020 from April 15 to July 15. So the ol' blog has adjusted, too, with extended Tax Tip pages for each of this year's six-and-a-half months that we now will focus on our 1040s: January, February, March, April, May, June and — tah-dah! — July. Then, after a very brief break to catch our post-filing deadline breath, the Weekly Tax Tips, like these from 2019, will return.

All About Kay

OK, some about Kay

Kay Bell — Native Texan (the blog title totally makes sense now, right?). Professional journalist. Tax geek.

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Tax Year 2020 Countdown
Happy New Tax Year! Are you ready to file your 2019 tax return? Me neither. But this year we're getting some extra time to file and pay any tax we owe, until July 15. This later date, however, is for a terrible reason. The coronavirus pandemic hit the United States hard in March, dramatically disrupting lives. Our normal tax routine is among the many things that have changed for all of us.
The monthly tips and reminders a little further down this column should help you focus on your taxes and make the filing of them by mid-summer go more smoothly. Also keep an eye on the countdown clock just below. It will help you keep track of the arrival of the new July 15, 2020, Tax Day.
Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.

Time for Tax Tasks

No April Fooling
around this year, please.
We are not in the mood.

April usually is a serious tax month, but the reason for a somber take in 2020 is truly life and death. The U.S. tax world, like the rest of the literal planet, has been dramatically altered as we fight the coronavirus pandemic.

One of the major COVID-19 changes is that April 15 is not Tax Day this year.
This perennial return (or extension) filing and tax paying deadline
has been pushed to July 15.
The one bit of good news connected to this 90-day delay is that we now have more time to make some key tax moves.

April 1: Another April change is that folks who turned 70½ last year and put off their first required minimum distribution (RMD) until today don't have to take it. Coronavirus relief legislation has waived RMDs for 2020.

April 6: Looking for tax help? During a normal April, it would be way too deep into the filing season to find a tax preparer. That's likely still true, even with more months left in the filing season. But as some have finished up with early filers before coronavirus changes hit, you might be able to find a tax pro willing to take on new clients.

Once stay-at-home orders are eased, you also might want to check into Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs in your area.

April 10: Most restaurants across the country have closed due to coronavirus. That's meant a loss of income for millions of workers in the consumer food sector, especially those who relied on tips. Some eateries and their employees are making do by delivering food instead of welcoming dine-in customers. Those delivery people also rely on tips. If you worked at least some of March at a job where you got gratuities, remember to account for them. If they came to at least $20 last month, use Form 4070 to report your tips today to your employer.

If a tip isn't included in your food delivery charge, click the image above to calculate how much to tip your meal delivery person.

April 15: Even though we don't have to get our returns in until July 15, this classic filing deadline date reminds us that Uncle Sam will be sending most of us coronavirus payments to help cover some of the financial hardship we've encountered due to the illness' wide-ranging economic effects. Now's a good time to check out how much we might get and when it should arrive.

April 20: You've decided to tackle your taxes on your own. Even if you do use tax software, make sure you don't overlook any tax breaks or make any common filing mistakes.

April 24: Speaking of tax software, there's also the free versions available at, where else, Free File. As its name says, this Internal Revenue Service partnership with the tax software industry offers eligible taxpayers access to online tax preparation programs and federal return e-filing at no cost. It's available for taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $69,000 or less.

There are 10 software companies participating this year at IRS.gov's Free File webpage. If you make too much to use the online software, look into using Free File's fillable forms.

April 30: In filling out your return, you realized you could get a tax break by making a 2019 tax year contribution to your traditional IRA. Good news. You have until July 15 to put that prior-tax-year money into that IRA, as well as into a health savings account (HSA).

Small Business Tax Calendar: Important filing, deposit and record keeping dates throughout the year that your company needs to know. You can get more tax calendar information at the IRS' online calendar page and view the full year's important business and individual tax dates in IRS Pub. 509.

State Tax Help

Don't forget your state taxes!
Forty-three states and D.C. collect personal income taxes. But even if you live in of the seven states without an income levy, you still face other state (and local) taxes.

State Tax Departments provides links to your state's Web page. The companion page, Tax Tidbits, is the compilation of blurbs about each state's tax laws. And for more state tax news, check out all our state tax bloggings.

Tax Forms

Thanks to our increased use of tax preparers and computer software, many of us don't see our tax forms until we sign and file them. But knowing what's on these documents, either in paper or digital form, and why the IRS wants it is key to understanding our tax system. And knowledge definitely is power, especially when it comes to tax savings. Find this valuable information in the ol' blog's special Tax Form Tuesday page.

Mapping Your Tax Route

Do you get lost doing your taxes? Check out the Taxpayer Advocate Service's Taxpayer Roadmap.

This publication, designed along the lines of a subway map, shows the many routes and detours of a taxpayer's journey through our elaborate Internal Revenue Code and the Internal Revenue Service's enforcement of our tax collection system.

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I gotta tell ya ...

AKA Disclaimer:
I am a professional journalist who has been covering tax issues since 1999.
I am not a professional tax preparer.
The content on Don't Mess With Taxes is my personal opinion based on my study and understanding of tax laws, policies and regulations. It is provided for your private, noncommercial, educational and informational purposes only. It is not a recommendation of any specific tax action(s) you should or should not take. Similarly, mentions of products or services are not endorsements. In other words, my ramblings on the ol' blog are free advice and you know what they say about getting what you pay for. That's why when it comes to filing your taxes, I urge you to get additional, professional, paid-for guidance from an accountant, Enrolled Agent or other qualified tax preparer who is familiar with your individual tax circumstances.

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