Hanging on for more time to file your taxes? Get more by filing Form 4868. (Harold Lloyd in 1923 film Safety Last!) Tax returns are due in just over a week. A lot of taxpayers, however, don’t seem in that big of a hurry. Last year, more than 163 million taxpayers filed returns. With the 2025 filing deadline looming, the Internal Revenue Service reports that has received just more than 89.5 million returns. Sure, millions will get their 1040 forms filled out and to the IRS by Tuesday, April 15. But based on past filing numbers, a sizeable group won't.... Read more →
Penalties
Photo by Ahsanjaya Have you been putting off filing your return because you’re having trouble coming up with the money to cover your tax bill? You might want to check out the Internal Revenue Service’s extended payment options File, even if you can’t pay: First things first. Even if you can’t pay all or even any of what you owe, file a tax return. That will at least prevent the penalty for not-filing. Yes, the nonfiling penalty is a separate one from the nonpayment penalty. And the assessments for not sending in a return are actually are stiffer than those... Read more →
Most of these birthday celebrants at an Austin-area senior citizens' center are enjoying the shared festivities. Maybe the man on the right is worried about his upcoming RMD. (Photo by Kay Bell) Did you celebrate your 73rd birthday last year? Congratulations and belated best wishes. The Internal Revenue Service also applauds your milestone, but partly for selfish reasons. Individuals who have certain tax-deferred retirement plans must start withdrawing some of those funds and pay tax due on the amounts once they turn 73. These required minimum distributions (RMDs) are annual. But you can delay your first withdrawal until April 1... Read more →
The Internal Revenue Service does more that issue red cards for tax penalties. Filing mistakes, unintentional or otherwise, could mean costly penalties, some of which increase due to inflation. (Photo by BOOM 💥) The United States' tax system depends on voluntary compliance by taxpayers. But Uncle Sam is no fool. He and his tax collectors are believers of the adage "trust, but verify." The Internal Revenue Service also follows up on that verification with penalties when it finds taxpayers — and the professionals we pay to take care of our taxes — aren't fulfilling our tax responsibilities on our own.... Read more →
Missing a deadline can be frustrating. Missing a tax deadline also can be costly, thanks to penalty and interest charges. (Photo by Anton Malanin on Unsplash) In most cases, if you missed the Oct. 15 tax extension deadline and didn’t owe any tax, then you don’t have to worry about penalty and interest charges. Those are calculated based on the amount of tax due. The late payment penalty is 0.5 percent of your unpaid balance per month or partial month, capped at 25 percent. The failure-to-file penalty is even steeper. It’s 5 percent of unpaid taxes per month or partial... Read more →
Photo by Mikael Blomkvist The third estimated tax payment deadline was Monday, Sept. 16, but today the Internal Revenue Service eased the minds of some Pennsylvanians who missed it. The IRS announced that taxpayers in areas of the Keystone State that were deluged by Tropical Storm Debby as it moved up the country’s east coast are eligible for a variety of tax relief. They’ve been given until Feb. 3, 2025, to meet a variety of tax filing and payment deadlines, including this week’s estimated tax due date. You can read more about the tax relief for storm-affected Pennsylvania individual and... Read more →
The Internal Revenue Service has been making use of additional federal funds to crack down on tax scofflaws. Notably, it has collected more than $1 billion from wealthy Americans who had, shall we say, neglected to file returns. However, a recent federal oversight office review indicates that the IRS also needs to take a look within its own ranks. Overall, IRS and contractor employees were 95 percent tax compliant, meaning they filed returns and paid (or were paying) due taxes, according to a recent Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) investigation. While just 5 percent not filing or paying... Read more →
Americans Evan Gershkovich (at center of back group, the back of his head visible) and Alsu Kurmasheva (hugging one family member and reaching for another), after arriving at Joint Base Andrews late Aug. 1. They were among those who were wrongfully imprisoned in Russia, and finally released following an historic prisoner swap. (White House photo via Facebook) I cannot image what goes through the mind of a person wrongfully imprisoned in a foreign country. I do know what they aren’t thinking about. Taxes. But when these United States citizens finally do get home, they must consider their tax situation. The... Read more →
Photo by Leeloo The First You didn’t file a tax return on April 15 and you’re still avoiding the task because you owe more than you can pay. That’s a terrible reason. You actually are making things worse. Penalty and interest charges automatically started running as soon as your tax filing and nonpayment became delinquent on April 16. So you need to act now, first by filing a return, and then by exploring ways to eventually pay Uncle Sam what you owe. Failure to file and/or pay penalty costs: Even if you can't afford to immediately pay the full amount... Read more →
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto The Internal Revenue Service's big tax party was yesterday and you didn't RSVP. Not even by filing Form 4868 to get an extension to show up as much as six months later. In fact, you didn't attend the Tax Day soiree at all. Maybe you had a good reason for not filing a Form 1040 on April 15. Maybe you simply forgot. Or maybe you started your return and got discouraged. While the IRS won't take your failure to file your return and pay any tax you owe personally, the agency isn't going to overlook your... Read more →
Running out of time to finish (or start) your 2023 tax return? Then get more by filing for an extension. (Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash) Put down that tax return. You know you aren't going to get it done by Monday, April 15. Instead, file Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. This Internal Revenue Service form is the tax procrastinator's best friend, whether you've put off filing because, well, taxes or you're still waiting for some tax statements that arrive annoyingly late every year. Yes, I'm looking at you Schedule... Read more →
That's not going to stop the latest IRS effort to get wealthy individuals to file tax returns. (Image: Giphy) The Internal Revenue Service crackdown on wealthy taxpayers who are skirting tax laws continues. Last month, Uncle Sam's tax agency announced plans to audit business aircraft that were used, most often by well-paid corporate execs, for personal travel. Now it's cutting right to the chase, going after wealthy taxpayers who haven't filed federal tax returns for years. This week, the IRS issued compliance letters on more than 125,000 cases where tax returns haven't been filed since 2017. The mailings include more... Read more →
In February 2022, the Internal Revenue Service stopped issuing several automatic tax notices. The move was prompted in large part by the massive backlog of tax filings that piled up when the agency closed offices as a precaution early in the COVID-19 pandemic. That tax notice moratorium is ending. Automated collection notices will soon show up in the mailboxes of individuals with tax debts prior to tax year 2022. Businesses, tax exempt organizations, trusts, and estates with tax debts prior to 2023, with exceptions for those with existing debt in multiple years, also are on the notice resumption list. These... Read more →
You probably are getting ready for the three-day weekend coming up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday on Monday, Jan. 15. But if you pay estimated taxes, you also know that date usually is the deadline for the prior tax year's fourth payment. Since it's MLK Day this year, this due date is pushed to the next business day, Tuesday, Jan. 16. You need to meet that final deadline to avoid a possible tax bill or penalty (or both) when your file your 2023 tax return later this year. Why estimated tax? Most of us pay... Read more →
To ensure you have the type of retirement you want, you must do some calculations, including figuring how your required minimum distributions fit in, financially and tax-wise. (Photo via Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images) Retirement savings can make a big difference in how enjoyable your post-work years will be. If you have tax-deferred retirement accounts, those savings also present new tax responsibilities once you reach a certain age. Some money in a traditional IRA that's been out of the Internal Revenue Service's reach for years must be taken out as a required minimum distribution, or RMD. Uncle Sam also... Read more →
Most of us are wrapping up year-end tax tasks (in between wrapping presents!). Others, and there is some overlap, are getting ready for the New Year and the start of the 2024 tax filing season. And some of us are still dealing with 2020 and 2021 tax issues. In many of these years-old cases, the issue is tax penalties assessed during the COVID-19 pandemic chaos that affected normal tax filing and processing. Today, the Internal Revenue Service announced it is providing $1 billion in penalty relief to those taxpayers, who number around 4.7 million. The relief receiving taxpayers include individuals,... Read more →
Tax mistakes, unintentional or otherwise, mean penalties when discovered by the IRS. And the amounts could add up. (Photo by Polina Tankilevitch) The United States' tax system depends on voluntary compliance by taxpayers. But Uncle Sam is no fool. He and his tax collectors are believers of the adage "trust, but verify." The Internal Revenue Service also follows up on that verification with penalties when it finds taxpayers — and the professionals we pay to take care of our taxes — aren't fulfilling our tax responsibilities on our own. The most severe punishments come via criminal tax prosecutions. The IRS... Read more →
Tax time is almost up if you got a filing extension. (Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images) It is Tax Day if you got an extension to file your 2022 tax return. Leading up to this Oct. 16 filing deadline, the ol' blog has been offering tips on how to finish up that Form 1040. They include — 8 tax tips for filers facing Oct. 16 extension deadline 10 often overlooked tax breaks 10 common tax filing mistakes Self-employment retirement plans with Oct. 16 contribution deadlines Free File 2023 still open, with 7 companies offering 9 no-cost tax prep/e-file options... Read more →
The Sept. 15 deadline for paying the third installment of 2023's estimated taxes is just days away. Make sure you meet it. Also make sure you pay the correct amount. If when all is said and filed at tax time, you owe the U.S. Treasury $1,000 or more, you could face a penalty for underpaying your taxes. And where that taxable money was from sources not subject to withholding, you also could face late-payment fines for not remitting it during the proper estimated tax quarters. Estimated tax safe harbors: Most of us who must pay estimated taxes calculate that expected... Read more →
Many taxpayers already are unhappy with the assistance they get from the IRS during filing season. Will that frustration be compounded if/when the tax agency implements its own direct tax preparation and e-filing system? My guess is yes. (Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images) It's the middle of July, so most of us aren't thinking about how we'll file our tax return next year. But A U.S. senator and intern at a Washington, D.C.-based tax policy think tank are. And both oppose the Internal Revenue Service getting more directly involved in our filing lives. Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo cuts... Read more →