You need to file your taxes, but you need help. You're on a tight budget, so you gave Free File a look. But you quickly discovered that you want more help than a tax software program provides. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) or Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) could be your answer. VITA and TCE sites are nationwide, usually at locations that are convenient for community residents to find and get to. They are staffed by Internal Revenue Service-trained volunteers. In many locations, the tax preparers are able to help taxpayers whose first language isn't English. And they are... Read more →
Tax Tip
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash Enough already, Mother Nature! We're not even through two full months of 2023, and you have been in a particularly foul mood too much of this time. The latest disastrous outbursts are leaving thousands across the country dealing with blizzards, high winds, and tornadoes. And the devastating weather system is still moving east. Meantime, folks who endured major disasters in January — which now cover most of California and parts of Alabama and Georgia — are still pare still picking up the pieces. That's why the Internal Revenue Service has decided to give these... Read more →
via GIPHY Where's your tax refund? Use the IRS' online tracker to find out The first look at 2023 tax filing data revealed that while returns were coming in at a brisker pace than last year, the average tax refund amount was smaller. That's still true, three weeks into the season. The average refund amount issued for the week ending Feb. 17 is less than at the same period in 2022. Again. However, that comparatively smaller refund so far this year actually is a decent amount, specifically $3,140. I haven't filed yet, so I don't know what my refund will... Read more →
One thing that's missing in Texas is a personal income tax. But residents in most of the rest of the country have to file a state return at the same time their federal paperwork is due. We're roughly at about the midpoint of the official tax filing season, based on the Jan. 23 date when the Internal Revenue Service began processing individual tax returns. For many, this means they need to get serious about filing their taxes, which are due this year on April 18. The filing focus is especially true for folks who also must submit returns to their... Read more →
via GIPHY The good news on the scam front is that fewer people reported getting suckered by con artists last year. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says there were 2.4 million scam reports in 2022, compared to 2.9 million such reports in 2021. The bad news is that con artists stole more money. The FTC's newest data book issued today (Feb. 23) reports $8.8 billion lost to scams in 2022. That's 2.6 billion more reports than the previous year. One reason for the dramatic increase in the amount of scammed dollars is the growth of investment scams. These schemes were... Read more →
Most U.S. workers get a salary or wages. Those amounts are reported to them early every year on Form W-2, which they use to file their annual tax return. But a lot of those folks also get other money throughout the year, and the Internal Revenue Service wants to know about that, too. These amounts, basically any income not reported on a W-2, go in Part I of Form 1040's Schedule 1, appropriately titled Additional Income. In many, but not all, cases the additional earnings are reported on one of the many types of 1099 forms. As with W-2s, 1099s... Read more →
When it comes to paycheck tax withholding, you want to get it just right to avoid a bear of a tax problem. (Goldilocks caught in Baby Bear's bed drawing by Leonard Leslie Brooke via Wikipedia Commons) Almost 29 million taxpayers have filed returns so far this 2023 tax season. Most early filers are tax refund recipients. Those of us who tend to owe send our 1040s to the IRSs closer to the April deadline, which is on the 18th this year. Both filing tendencies underscore a need to get tax withholding right. Overwithholding costs: IRS data show that most taxpayers,... Read more →
The tax reform law enacted back in 2017 did fulfill one of its promises. It made filing easier for millions, mainly folks who no longer itemize deductions because the standard claim amounts are so much larger. But some of the associated tax return mechanics also could mean some taxpayers might miss some tax breaks. Tax law and form changes: When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act became law, the Internal Revenue Service also revised tax return forms. Most notably, it dramatically shrank Form 1040, beginning with the 2018 version. It wasn't quite the postcard-sized tax return long touted by Republicans... Read more →
That's all?!? (Photo by Karolina Grabowska) As we hit mid-February, more tax refunds will start going out. The Internal Revenue Service has been waiting, per 2015's Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes, or PATH, Act, to issue refunds on returns where filers claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). The mandated delay was designed to give the IRS more time to catch fraudulent refunds based on these two popular tax credits. The IRS expects most EITC and/or ACTC related refunds to be available in taxpayer bank accounts or on debit cards by Feb. 28... Read more →
Casino sportsbooks like this one in Las Vegas still take plenty of sports bets, but thanks to the Supreme Court's 2018 ruling allowing states to open up sports gambling within their borders, this year's Super Bowl wagering broke betting records. Happy Super Bowl Monday hangover! I'll try to type softly for all y'all skipping work today to recover from either celebrating your Kansas City Chiefs hoisting the Lombardi Trophy again or hunkering down because you drowned your Philadelphia Eagles' fan sorrows a bit too much. Regardless of the National Football League championship result, I hope at least some of your... Read more →
Image via California Franchise Tax Board Individuals who got special tax or inflation relief payments from their states last year won't have to worry about handing over a portion to the U.S. Treasury. The Internal Revenue Service announced late Friday, Feb. 10, afternoon, that, "in the interest of sound tax administration and other factors," recipients of the payments won't have to report the amounts on their 2022 tax returns that are now being filed. Disaster and general welfare exemptions: The IRS said that it will not challenge the taxability of payments related to general welfare and disaster relief. This means... Read more →
Image courtesy NFL The 57th Super Bowl is Sunday. Millions will watch the National Football League championship game to root for their Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles. For most, the attention will be because of pure fandom. But millions also will pay attention to the events at State Farm Field in Glendale, Arizona, because they've got money riding on the game. Growth of sports betting: Gambling on sporting events is no longer taboo. After the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 ruling allowed states to decide whether to legalize sports betting within their borders, most states and Washington, D.C., have done... Read more →
It's never fun having to re-do your taxes. But if it means you'll get a refund, or a larger amount than with your original filing, it's worth it. And now amended filers can have that refund amount sent straight to a financial account. The Internal Revenue Service announced today that people who e-file a Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, now will be able to select direct deposit as the money's delivery method. More X filing going electronic: The IRS began accepting e-filed 1040-X forms in 2020. Most tax software programs have added the amended filing option to... Read more →
Free File 2023 has been open for almost a month. Have you tried it out yet? This partnership between Uncle Sam and the private tax software industry has been around since 2003. Free File's original mandate was to make electronic tax help available to taxpayers who might not be able to pay a tax professional or even afford tax software. However, the program hasn't really caught on as much as the Internal Revenue Service had hoped. Some of the lack of Free File enthusiasm might be attributed to roadblocks the program has encountered in recent years. Free File problems: Some... Read more →
Photo by RODNAE Productions Last year, as the country started emerging from COVID-19 closures, the Internal Revenue Service joined the resocialization. It opened some of its Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) across the country so individuals could get some face-to-face tax help, no appointments needed. That resumption of more-normal taxpayer interaction was such a success, the agency is doing it again this 2023 filing season. For one Saturday a month, beginning in February and continuing through May, TACs in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico will be open on four upcoming Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.... Read more →
Hello, February! Yeah, I know my regular monthly tax moves post is late. But February started off here in Central Texas with a nasty ice storm that knocked out our power for four days, and I'm still catching up on delayed blog (and real life) tasks. I appreciate your patience and understanding. So, since we're already on this shortest month's fifth day, and nobody wants to hear my continued whining about the storm and our local electric company, let's get right to some fun stuff. Like February Tax Moves! Here are three to consider this month. 1. Collect your tax... Read more →
Photo by Kay Bell All things considered, we got through last week's Central Texas ice storm pretty well. Yes, I whined about no power, hence no heat for 3½ days, but we piled on enough clothes to mimic the Michelin Man, and used our grill to cook previously frozen food before it spoiled. As for our property, our oldest and biggest tree, a live oak, lost just three limbs. Two, shown above, fell in our backyard; the other snapped on the other side of the fence and fell into our neighbor's yard. The neighbor had a clean-up crew over at... Read more →
The Internal Revenue Service has its own Groundhog Day, but it's not limited to just one specific 24-hour period. Most often, this re-do of a tax return is when you find you made a mistake on your original Form 1040. The do-over is accomplished by filing Form 1040-X, an excerpt of which is shown below. See more tax forms and more about them at 2022's Talking Tax Forms and Tax Forms 2023. Fix errors: Nobody's perfect, and the annual filing season underscores that for many of us. When we do make a mistake on our taxes, filing an amended return... Read more →
Photo by Brett Sayles Tax refunds are one of the main ways the Internal Revenue Service uses to encourage more of us taxpayers to go digital. For years, the IRS has said that if you e-file your tax return and include bank information, your refund can be directly deposited in less than 21 days. There are, of course, a few caveats connected to this promise of a three-week refund turnaround. First, your return must not have any iffy entries that prompt Uncle Sam's tax collector to take a closer look, and possibly send out follow-up communications. Second, there isn't a... Read more →
Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich You tried doing your own taxes last week when the 2023 filing season officially opened, with tried being the operative word. It didn't take long to realize that you need more help. You didn't feel quite comfortable with the tax software you tried. And your tax circumstances are a bit more complex than those typically handled by the various tax preparation chains. So now you're looking for more professional, personal tax assistance. Be ready to wait: Good for you for admitting that your taxes are too important and confusing for you to deal with on your... Read more →