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The new H&R Block At Home eFile now offers free importing tools for you to import previous year’s tax data from TurboTax as well as previous versions of TaxCut. We assumed the TaxCut import would be in place with this new release, but the TurboTax import is exciting. If you’ve been doing your taxes with TurboTax for years, and you now want to switch to H&R Block, this will save you quite a bit of hassle.
We all struggle to make ends meet sometimes. Just because it’s tax season doesn’t mean we can just make money appear. Here are some options for you if you find you owe the IRS money and you just don’t have it.
Pay with a Credit Card - The IRS will accept major credit cards for payment. see: Pay Your Taxes with your Credit Card
Apply for a Payment Plan from the IRS -The IRS will set up people in lower income brackets with a payment plan to help spread out your payments and make them more manageable.
Borrow from a Friend or Family Member - This is always an option, but in my experience…money and friends don’t mix.
Borrow on your Mortgage - This is also very dangerous…but if necessary, your home equity can save you from the IRS.
So, if you find yourself in a bind and don’t have credit to help you when times are tough, don’t underestimate the IRS. You should send them as much as you can with your return and discuss options to pay the rest over time. They should be willing to help you as long as you are honest and upfront about your situation.
Tags: credit cards, IRS payment plan, mortgage, owe irs
No one likes to hear the words “jury duty.” You are forced to do your civil duty for 6-8 hours a day, stuck in a little wooden box away from your family. And you only receive $15 a day! Well, there is a way that you can deduct your jury duty.
Some employers will pay full wages out to you even if you are called. Did you know if you pay your employer back the wage you earned from jury duty (yes, that $15 a day), you can claim a deduction. Fair trade off if you ask me….normal wages for your duration of duty for $15 a day. SWEET!
Tags: deduction, jury dutyMost people don’t realize that the IRS will accept any major credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, or Discover) to pay your taxes. The easiest way to do this is, of course, to e-file. When you use TurboTax, TaxAct, or such software, you can input your credit card information right into their secure system. You may also do this on paper taxes by just filling out the proper information on your forms. Good news for those of us who owe money and don’t have any on hand.
Tags: amex, credit card, discover, efile, mastercard, taxact, turbotax, visaJust like your W2’s, you can file your taxes without your 1099 forms. A 1099 form is used to track your stocks sold, interest or dividend income, or your income if you worked as an independent contractor. It is always better to wait for the forms if at all possible, to ensure accuracy on your return, but with a little bit of information, you don’t need to have the actual forms to do your taxes.
1099s come in a lot of different forms. Below is just a few of the different 1099 forms:
**1099-B Proceeds from broker and barter exchange transactions.
**1099-C Amount of canceled debt.
**1099-DIV Dividends and distributions.
**1099-G Certain government and qualified state tuition program payments (this includes refunds of state income taxes paid).
**1099-INT Interest income.
**1099-LTC Long-term care and accelerated death benefits.
**1099-MISC Miscellaneous income.
**1099-OID Original issue discount payments.
**1099-Q Payments from qualified education programs (Section 529 or 530 plans; Coverdell account distributions used to be included here, too, but now have their own Form 5498-ESA).
**1099-R Distributions from pensions, annuities, retirement or profit-sharing plans, IRAs, insurance contracts, etc. This is an exception to the nonfiling rule. You will need to send in a 1099-R with your return if the statement shows income tax was withheld.
**1099-S Proceeds from real estate transactions.
**SSA-1099 Social Security benefits statement.
**RRB-1099 Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board.
You should be receiving these forms in the same time frame as the W2’s (mid January through beginning of February). If you do not see your forms by early February, you should attempt to contact your employer or bank to find out if the forms have been sent out. You can also get the figures from these agencies that you need to plug into your return if your forms have gone missing. Just like W2’s, you do want to send a copy of your 1099 form with your return so the IRS can double check your figures, however this is not required. If you were missing forms and they finally show up in the mail, do not throw them away. Double check your numbers and if there is a discrepancy, you must file a 1040X to reconcile the difference.
Like before, wait if you can. It is always better to have the exact figures and save yourself from costly mistakes.
Tags: 1040x, 1099, 1099-B, 1099-C, 1099-DIV, 1099-G, 1099-INT, 1099-LTC, 1099-MISC, 1099-OID, 1099-R, 1099-S, RRB-1099, SSA-1099So what do you do if your employer does not send you your W2 forms? If the company is still in business, this could just be a matter of making a simple phone call or two, but what if the company no longer does business? How do you go about getting forms from some company that doesn’t exist anymore? Here are some ways to try to troubleshoot the problem so you don’t end up on tax day with nothing to give the IRS.
So, it is prudent to be aware of the movements of former employers to help you avoid being surprised when taxes are upon us. And now you know why your mother always told you to hold on to your paycheck stubs. You never know when they may come in handy.
Tags: 1040x, form 4852Waiting for your W2’s can be such a pain. Some employers are prompt with their forms while others make you wait and wait. Here are some ways you can file your taxes early without having to wait for those W2’s.
YAY!!! You made your own W2!
One small note about creating your own W2…this can be dangerous. If you don’t have the correct figures you could really screw yourself up and be assessed penalties for improper filing. So…if you can wait for those W2’s, it will be safer for you because then you know exactly what your company is reporting to the IRS. Hastiness could cost you…be careful!
Still having problems creating your new form? Use Form 4852 “Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, or Form 1009R, Distributions Form Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRA’s, Insurance Contracts, etc.” from our lovely IRS.
Tags: federal income tax, FICA, form 4852, make w2, medicare, pre-tax deductions, state tax withholdingWhat is that cut-off date for income that needs to be declared on your 2009 taxes? Well, it will be different for everyone. The official cut-off is December 31st. Any money that has been deposited before this date is fair game on your 2008 taxes.
Where this can get confusing is when you are not going to receive payment for your 2009 work until 2010. E.g. You received your last paycheck on December 26th, but you still have to work on the 27th, 28th, 29th, and 30th and you won’t see that money until January 16th. The date on your check is what is going to matter. Even though those days worked are technically in 2009, your will not receive the income from them until 2010.
So therefore, if your check wasn’t issued until 2010…those wages will be exempt from your 2009 taxes
Tags: cut-off date, income declared for 2008It’s a new year and the start of the ever dreaded “tax season.” I know some of you eager beavers want to get a jump on your taxes right away. But guess what? Not quite that time yet.
While some companies, such as H&R Block, are starting to efile taxes as early as January 4th…most of us are going to have to wait until at least January 11th before the IRS will start accepting independent efiling (those of us who aren’t a tax company that is). This doesn’t effect most of us since you do need to have all of your paperwork (W2’s and the like) in order before you can file. And seeing as companies aren’t liable to dispense these records until the end of January, most of us will just have to cool our heels for a couple of weeks before we can start.
Don’t fall into the trap of paying a company like H&R Block to do your taxes just because you want to get your taxes efiled a couple of days early. If you are a penny pincher like me, just wait a few extra days and it will save you a bunch of extra money.
Now that you’re ready to begin your taxes, the next step is to choose an eFile program. Many are free for Federal returns, and charge a fee for state filing. We recommend the following tax software:
Both TurboTax and H&R Block at Home offer great solutions no matter the complexity of your tax returns. For basic filers with limited deductions, the free versions of these programs will be acceptable. But if you run a small business, have a lot of investments, or a lot of deductions, you will want to upgrade to a more comprehensive package.
Yay! The government is finally making it easier and more cost efficient to file your taxes online in Illinois thanks to WebFile. This is a free program which allows you to file your taxes with the ease of the internet but none of the costly software or tax professionals. With WebFile, you pay nothing…that’s right…NOTHING! Not even the cost of a postage stamp to mail out your “efile” copies or the gas to get that refund to the bank.
It’s quite simple. Just go to tax.illinois.gov and file right from home. Your tax information goes directly from your computer at home to the IRS and your refund is placed directly into your bank account. When you use this program you will get a faster refund, a confirmation number which proves you filed, and less (if any) penalties to worry about since their double check all your numbers for you. Trying to go GREEN? Guess what? You will also be helping the planet saving trees and paper that would otherwise be used to file those annoying taxes.
8 easy steps to Illinois WebFile
and PRESTO! You have filed your 2008 taxes (and in your jamies no less!)
So save time, worry, and the planet with Illinois WebFile. You’ll be glad you did!
Tags: direct deposit, efile, free filing, IL-PIN, Illinois, webfile