If you've put off your tax filing until the very last minute, don't panic. But get to work on that return or filing extension request. Tax Day is almost here. If you’re a last-minute filer, you’re painfully aware of the dwindling filing time frame. I don’t want to interrupt your work, but if you are looking for some suggestions on how to get the job done, here are six tips to help you finish by tomorrow, April 15. 1. Get an extension. Your wisest move at this point, even if you are close to finishing your Form 1040 and accompanying... Read more →
Tax help
Next Tuesday is April 15. If you haven’t filed your 2024 tax return, then you know you have some work to do. You are not alone. Every year, millions of individuals put off their filing until the last minute. If that’s you, and you are committed to finishing your Form 1040 by April 15, here are some tips to make sure it’s not a lost tax weekend. The first tip is get more time. That’s right. Don’t rush to finish by April 15. You’ve gone this long without filing your tax return, so why push yourself into an urgent panic?... Read more →
Photo by Polina Tankilevitch This weekend is bookended by holidays. Today’s Valentine’s Day gift and card exchanges and Presidents Day sales on Monday, Feb. 17. It also marks the peak phone traffic at the Internal Revenue Service, with taxpayers taking advantage of a day off, and finally having their tax statements in hand, to work on their returns. For many callers, however, it also means time on telephone hold. Avoid bad tax-hold tunes: Instead of listening to music that’s not really your taste, the IRS suggests taxpayers with questions this weekend — and beyond — look online for the answers.... Read more →
Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich It’s been an exciting time in your life. You got your diploma. You got a job. You even got your own apartment. OK, sort of your own, since you’re sharing it with a couple of roommates to give your budget a bit more flexibility. Now you’re about to face another financial first. Your first time filing taxes. I know, it’s not exactly a celebratory milestone. But it’s a crucial one. And it doesn’t have to be an ordeal. Here are seven steps that first-time tax filers can take to make sure their initiation into the taxpayer... Read more →
When you just can't with your taxes, check into getting help from a VITA or TCE volunteer. (Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich) Even simple taxes can be confusing. So it’s a relief when a reputable, knowledgeable person can help you file. But what if you can’t afford a tax professional? The people who staff the thousands of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly sites across the United States could be your tax-filing answer. Locally-provided tax help: The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, program was created after passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1969 as a... Read more →
Hello, February! Even though it's the second month of the year, it's the first full month of the annual tax-filing season and the time when most of us finally start focusing on our 1040s. So, since February also is the shortest month, and we’re already three days into it, I’ll cut to the chase and keep this month’s recommended tax moves short. 1. Keep an eye out for tax statements. Jan. 31 is the day that W-2 and various other earnings statements are supposed to be delivered to workers. Guess what? That date usually slips. Today, for example, I got... Read more →
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) turns 50 this year. The official date is March 29, in case you want to throw a party. The Internal Revenue Service isn’t waiting that long. With tax season 2025 underway, the tax agency again is celebrating this tax benefit created to help lower- and moderate-income workers with the annual Jan. 31 EITC Day. Today marks the beginning of efforts to get the word out to eligible taxpayers and encourage them to take advantage of the EITC. The EITC can be worth from hundreds to thousands of dollars for qualifying filers. While the larger... Read more →
Taking things a bit more slowly often is a good idea. For many, that applies to filing their annual tax return. (Photo by Kay Bell) Few people like doing taxes, even when doing so will get them a refund. That’s every year, some people who are due money back from Uncle Sam still put off finishing their taxes. But there are other reasons in addition to plain procrastination to wait to file your taxes. Here are five. 1. To allow for all your tax statements to arrive. We’re almost at the Jan. 31 deadline that most tax statement providers must... Read more →
Fortune cookie tax filing wisdom (Photo by Kay Bell) We’re into the second official day of the 2025 tax season and millions of taxpayers have already filed their returns. This post is not for you. It’s for folks who haven’t yet even thought about their 2024 tax year returns. That’s okay. We all work at our own pace. But there actually are some good reasons to get to your annual tax filing task sooner rather than later. Here are 10. 1. To get your federal tax refund sooner. This is the main reason early filers get their 1040 forms to... Read more →
If you used Free File last year to complete your federal taxes, then the 2025 version, which opened today, is mostly déjà vu. The same eight tax software companies are participating. One of them will offer software for Spanish speakers. The main difference this year is that the Internal Revenue Service/Free File Alliance partnership can be used by taxpayers whose adjusted gross income (AGI) is $84,000. That’s five grand more than last year’s AGI threshold, but it still applies to all filers, regardless of filing status. Same 8 software options: The eight returning private-sector tax software companies that are part... Read more →
Life is tough for lots of people. Unfortunately, that’s true even during, or because of, the holiday season. But caring people still exist. They donate dollars and, more importantly in many cases, their time to help those in need. That’s true in the tax world, too. It’s no secret that Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs provide free help to many who need personal assistance, but can’t afford to pay a tax professional, to fill out and file their annual returns. Then there are those who offer similar free aid to those who... Read more →
The Internal Revenue Service today announced grants to groups that support volunteer tax preparation and tax-filing programs. (Photo by Liza Summer) It’s December, so you’re focusing, as you should, on holiday plans. But the arrival of the last month of the year also means that the 2025 tax-filing season is almost here. Lots of taxpayers already are planning to file as early as they can. And many do so by using free and personal tax preparation and filing help two nationwide programs, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE). Today the Internal Revenue Service announced... Read more →
Photo by Brett Jordan Here’s a subject line you never want to see in your email box: There’s a problem with your tax return. But that is what’s happening to some taxpayers. No, it wasn’t from the Internal Revenue Service. Uncle Sam snail mails you a tax notice with questions about your filing. Rather, it was an email from TurboTax to its users with the subject line — CRITICAL NOTICE: Regarding your 2023 TurboTax return And here’s the message — Hi there, We’re contacting you because there might be an issue with the accuracy of your 2023 tax return. Due... Read more →
If you have a big heart like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz classic movie, consider helping out fellow taxpayers as a volunteer during the coming tax-filing season. Volunteering is getting a lot of attention right now, as people are doing what they can to help each other in areas ravaged by Hurricane Helene. These good deed doers are as critical as the official government and organized philanthropic organization workers. The Internal Revenue Service also depends on volunteers every filing season. They are the IRS-trained people who staff Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the... Read more →
Photo by Francisco De Legarreta C. on Unsplash Owing a big tax bill is a terrible feeling. The only thing worse is not being able to come up with the money to pay Uncle Sam. The Internal Revenue Service offers some solutions. You can pay over time by setting up an installment plan with the tax agency. Sometimes, even spreading out payments isn’t enough. Dealing with a huge tax bill: If your tax debt is so large that you know you’ll never be able to pay it all, you can turn to an Offer in Compromise, or OIC. By submitting... Read more →
If you’ve glanced at the filing extension countdown in the ol’ tax blog’s right column, you know time is running out to file your extended tax return. The incessantly ticking clock isn’t a reason to panic. It is, however, a reminder that you don’t want to push that Oct. 15 deadline. The Internal Revenue Service doesn’t give you any more time to file your Form 1040. So, you should be thinking about finishing up that paperwork now. Here are some tips to help. Gather your filing documents. This shouldn’t be too much of a problem. You probably used the material... Read more →
The Internal Revenue Service’s long-standing goal of regulating noncredentialed tax preparers got some support from the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee’s (ETAAC) 2024 annual report. Such oversight is one of a dozen recommendations in the latest ETAAC document, released June 26. It is one of three suggestions the panel directed to Congress; the remaining nine ETAAC recommendations are for the IRS. ETAAC goals: ETAAC is a volunteer panel established by Congress in 1988 to provide public input into the development and implementation of the IRS organizational strategy for, as the name says, electronic tax administration. To that end, ETAAC researches,... Read more →
Unsplash+ in collaboration with Kateryna Hliznitsova One of the biggest, most persistent complaints about the Internal Revenue Service is the agency’s service, or lack thereof, in answering taxpayer phone calls. The IRS has improved in this area, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate’s midyear report to Congress released today. The Treasury Department and the IRS established the Accounts Management (AM) Customer Service Representative Level of Service (LOS) standard to measure taxpayer service. For the past two filing seasons, notes National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Erin M. Collins in her report, the Treasury/IRS LOS goal of at least 85 percent was met.... Read more →
There’s good news for the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to get rid of as much paper as possible. The agency’s Document Upload Tool, or DUT, recently received its 1 millionth taxpayer submission. The online option lets taxpayers and tax professionals respond digitally to a wide range of tax issues. One of those issues is potentially underreported income, which prompts the IRS to issue Notice CP2000. With the DUT, taxpayers or their preparers can easily scan the material that answers the notice’s questions and electronically submit it to the agency, said the IRS. DUT growth: The upload tool was launched in... Read more →
The Internal Revenue Service recommended, and the U.S. Treasury agreed, that the free tax software program created and operated directly by the IRS will be a permanent tax preparation and electronic filing option. Federal tax officials are encouraging all 50 states and Washington, D.C., to join the expanded Direct File program in filing season 2025. UPDATE, Sept. 5, 2025: Has your state joined Direct File? Check out this special Direct File 2025 Participating States page. All U.S. taxpayers next year could have another no-cost option to prepare and e-file their federal tax returns. The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue... Read more →