There are various thresholds, depending on your filing status, age, and the type of income you receive. For instance, if you’re single, under 65 and your income was below $10,350 last year, you generally don’t need to file federal taxes. This IRS tool can help you figure out if you need to file a tax return.
Even if appears you don’t have to fil…[Read more]

If you procrastinated and April 18 is looking like a long shot, experts say you should file for an extension. This doesn’t get you out of paying any taxes you owe by the deadline, but it gives you an extra six months to file. An extension will keep you from getting hit with a late-filing penalty of 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part o…[Read more]

This IRS page has links to online forms you can print as well as a locator tool where you can find an office if you prefer to pick up forms in person or don’t have access to a printer. You might also find tax forms at your local library or post office.
If you make less than $64,000, the IRS has a page where you can file your taxes e…[Read more]

The IRS has many security measures in place to verify the accuracy of tax returns and the validity of social security numbers (SSNs) or individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) submitted.

If you receive a notice from the IRS that leads you to believe someone may have used your SSN (or ITIN) fraudulently, please notify the IRS…[Read more]

Where’s My Refund ‎on IRS.gov and the IRS2Go mobile app remains the best way to check the status of a refund. Where’s My Refund will be updated with projected deposit dates for early EITC and ACTC refund filers a few days after Feb. 15. Taxpayers will not see a refund date on Where’s My Refund ‎or through their software packages until then. The I…[Read more]

It takes additional time for refunds to be processed after leaving the IRS, and for financial institutions to accept and deposit them to bank accounts and products like debit cards. Also, many financial institutions do not process payments on weekends or holidays, which can affect when refunds reach taxpayers. For EITC and ACTC filers, the…[Read more]

Beginning in 2017, if you claim the EITC or ACTC on your tax return, the IRS must hold your refund until Feb. 15. This new law requires the IRS to hold the entire refund — even the portion not associated with the EITC or ACTC. Like previous years, some tax refunds may be held if there are questions about the tax return or the IRS needs more information.

While the IRS will begin to issue EITC/ACTC refunds starting Feb. 15, you should not count on actually seeing your refund until the last week of February — if you chose direct deposit or a debit card and there are no processing issues with your tax return.

Yes, if you meet the requirements, you may claim:

1. The Earned Income Credit

Generally, a child must live with you in the United States for more than half of the tax year to be a qualifying child. You may treat a child who was born alive or died in 2016 as having lived with you for more than half of 2016 if your main home was the child’s m…[Read more]

Yes, you can use Form 1040EZ, Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers With No Dependents, to claim the earned income credit (EIC), provided you don’t have a qualifying child and your investment income is $3,400 or less (for 2016). Your investment income is the total amount of interest from line 2 of Form 1040EZ and any tax-exempt…[Read more]

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]