The moment of truth is nearly upon those of us who waited to file our federal income taxes.
Nearly one in four Americans wait until the last two weeks to file, the IRS reports. But the longer you wait, the more you increase your chance of making a mistake under pressure.
Beat the April 15 deadline confidently and accurately — and you may even save a few bucks by the time you sign your 1040.
1. Get Organized
Gather your income and deduction information before you sit down. Have your Social Security numbers for yourself, spouse if filing jointly, and children if claiming dependents. Look at last year’s return and make sure you have the documents to support any of the same claims you plan to make this year.
A few examples:
Income: You’ll need W-2s and 1099s for income, including Form 1099-INT for interest earned on a bank account (or, if you were lucky, a W-2G for winning the lottery or a big poker tournament.) Missing a W-2? The IRS can help you get missing documents online or by calling 800-829-1040.
Deductions and credits: If you’re itemizing, you’ll want Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement, for deducting interest paid on a loan for your own home. Also collect receipts for purchases and payments for business, health care, education, charitable donations, child care, retirement savings contributions and other items.
If you bought health insurance through an Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare) state or federal exchange, you should have a Form 1095-A to calculate the amount of your premium tax credit so you can reconcile it with any advance payments applied to your premiums on Form 8962.
2. Pick a Preparer
Decide who’s going to file your taxes — you or a professional tax preparer?
If you made $53,000 or less last year, you may qualify for free in-person preparation of basic tax forms through The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. If not, the IRS Free File website offers brand-name software for those whose income is less than $60,000. Each company sets eligibility criteria, generally based on income, age, state residency, eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit and military status. For those with income of more than $60,000, the IRS offers free online filing.
For other e-filing, services such as TurboTax, TaxAct and H&R Block are available. With electronic filing, you get an electronic confirmation when the IRS receives your return.
If you need help finding a preparer or are due a refund, you can check through the IRS website or there’s an app for that: IRS2Go, which you can use to follow the IRS on Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube.
If you still want to use paper forms or publications, visit IRS.gov to view, download or print what you need right away. You can also order forms online at IRS.gov/orderforms or by phone at 800-829-3676. But your time is short.
If you need in-person help, H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt, accountants and tax preparation offices are available, often open late as the filing deadline looms.
Whichever way you go, take the time to do your taxes right.
3. Don’t Rush
Mistakes can be costly and delay any refund you might be due, the IRS warns. Here are the most common errors for last-minute filers, as compiled from the IRS and tax preparation services and professionals.
- Basics: Entering wrong Social Security numbers for yourself, spouse or dependent children; misstating address or filing status; checking wrong exemption boxes; and listing incorrect bank routing numbers for direct deposit of refunds. For paper returns, making math errors, misreading tax tables, leaving off signatures and dates on forms, failing to attach all needed forms to the 1040, and sending forms to the wrong IRS processing centers.
- Income: Forgetting dividends, state tax refunds, unemployment payments, and earnings from side jobs or freelance work. If the IRS discovers you left any of these out, you may owe penalties if the income increases the tax you owe.
- Deductions and credits: For itemizers, forgetting state and local income taxes paid, real estate and personal property taxes paid, and miscellaneous business expenses. For all, even if you don’t itemize, ignoring “above the line” deductions for educator expenses, health savings accounts tuition and fees. Also under-claimed, for those qualifying, the Earned Income Credit.
Don’t miss Stacy Johnson’’s advice on often-overlooked deductions and credits here.
4. Lower Your Bill
Three things you might be able to do by April 15 should lower your tax bill:
- Contribute to your self-employed 401(k).
- Contribute to your IRA.
- Contribute to your Health Savings Plan.
The plans must have been established in 2014, though, and you must be younger than 70½. You can file your return claiming a traditional IRA contribution before the contribution is actually made, the IRS says. The contribution must be made by the due date of your return, not including extensions.
5. Don’t Sweat the Deadline
Despite what we’re used to hearing, the April 15 deadline applies only if you owe. If you’re getting money back, the IRS doesn’t mind when you file, but you may not want to delay your own refund.
If you can’t get your taxes done by April 15, you can file for an automatic extension with Form 4868, which usually gives you an extra six months — for filing, not paying. But file something, even if you can’t pay, otherwise you could face a late-filing penalty of 5% per month, up to 25% of your total tax bill. That’s 10 times greater than the 0.5% per month penalty for paying late but filing or seeking and extension time.
This post originally appeared on Money Talks News.
More From Money Talks News:
- Tax Hacks 2015: Can’t Pay Your Taxes? Here’s What to Do
- Correcting Mistakes After You File: Amended Tax Returns
- Tax Hacks 2015: Don’t Overlook These 8 Deductions and Credits
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