Social security benefits include monthly retirement, survivor and disability benefits. They don’t include supplemental security income (SSI) payments, which aren’t taxable. The net amount of social security benefits that you receive from the Social Security Administration is reported in Box 5 of Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement,…[Read more]

You must make estimated tax payments for the current tax year if both of the following apply:

You expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for the current tax year after subtracting your withholding and refundable credits.
You expect your withholding and refundable credits to be less than the smaller of:
90% of the tax to be shown on your current…[Read more]

A split refund lets you divide your refund, in any proportion you want, and direct deposit the funds into up to three different accounts with U.S. financial institutions. Use Form 8888, Allocation of Refund (Including Savings Bond Purchases), to request to have your refund split or to use part or all of your refund to buy up to $5,000 in paper or…[Read more]

It depends on the type of mistake you made:

Many mathematical errors are caught during the processing of the tax return and corrected by the IRS, so you may not need to correct these mistakes.
If you didn’t claim the correct filing status or you need to change your income, deductions, or credits, you should file an amended or corrected return…[Read more]

Generally, to qualify for head of household, you must have a qualifying child or dependent. However, a custodial parent may be able to claim head of household filing status with a qualifying child even if he or she released a claim to exemption for the child. See Noncustodial parent is claiming an exemption for my child; do I still qualify as head…[Read more]

No, one of the conditions of your installment agreement is that any refund due to you, the IRS will automatically apply against taxes you owe. Because your refund isn’t applied toward your regular monthly payment, continue making your installment agreement payments as scheduled until you pay your liability, including accrued penalties and…[Read more]

If you can claim an exemption for your daughter as a dependent on your income tax return, she can’t claim her own personal exemption on her income tax return. Your daughter should check the box on her return indicating that someone else can claim her as a dependent.

An unmarried dependent student must file a tax return if his or her earned or unearned income exceeds certain limits. To find these limits, refer to Dependents under Who Must File, in Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.

Even if you don’t have to file a federal income tax return, you should file if you can…[Read more]

To claim your child as your dependent, your child must meet either the qualifying child test or the qualifying relative test:

To meet the qualifying child test, your child must be younger than you and either younger than 19 years old or be a “student” younger than 24 years old as of the end of the calendar year.
There’s no age limit if your…[Read more]

New law for all taxpayers claiming the EITC after Dec. 31, 2016, the IRS will have additional time to review the claim and will not be required to pay the refund before the 15th day of the second month following the close of the tax year.

Taxpayers that claim EITC will not receive any tax refunds prior to February 15th every tax year moving…[Read more]