If your eyes are straining from rolling too much, we suggest you simply bookmark this page for the final seconds prior to your sending off for your return. Why?

The IRS charges 6% interest and up to a 20% penalty for incorrect filings. A double-check can save you tons of time, and possibly, tons of money.

• Did you include your W-2?

Obviously this won’t be a problem for e-filings, but for our snailmail brothers and sisters, it’s one of the most-repeated mistakes.



• Did you write the correct social security number?

Go over your return and see if you didn’t forget a digit, or mix your wife’s with your own. It’s a silly mistake that can cost you time or money (or both), and the IRS says it’s the number-one “whoops” mistake.

• Did you file under the correct status?

Easy to slip up on this one if you’re recently married or separated. Same level of “whoops” in the IRS mistake list.

• Did you claim new home credits too early?

You must have closed escrow by January 1, 2010. Anything after that has to wait for next year. Sorry.

• Did you report all your income?

No problem for anyone who’s worked at the same job for umpteen years, but if you’ve been floating about doing work for multiple employers (or, gulp, a now-defunct business), it can be tough to keep track of all the W-2s you’re owed.

• Did you report all your charitable giving?

If you’re just starting now, it’s a little late, but make sure you keep receipts for anything and everything you give away to charitable organizations. Anything valued over $200 has to have a corresponding receipt. If the IRS comes-a-auditing, be prepared to whip out your receipt logs, or you’ll have an uncomfortable amount of ‘splainin’ to do.

• Did you report all your mileage?

Same as your charitable giving, above. Make sure you keep an immaculate log. Again, the IRS expects you to keep your records for at least five years, and they’ll expect you to have those records ready for display whenever they’d like a closer look.

• Are you sure your “dependent” is actually a dependent?

Visit the IRS’s website and make darn sure your hanger-on qualifies as a dependent.

If this list saves just one person a week’s worth of waiting for a much-needed return, then our post will have been worth the effort!

The Schedule M form is for anyone needing to account for the Making Work Pay credit or retirees who got the free $250 from the government last year. The Making Work Pay credit comes from the February 2009 stimulus package, which stated that working taxpayers can get up to a $400 benefit.

This benefit was automatically adjusted in the witholdings of most Americans’ paychecks; your “benefit” should’ve resulted in a slight increase in your take-home pay. If you’re a self-employed employee, however, you likely didn’t see a dime of it. You’ll need to file a schedule M, and there’ve been more than a few mistakes.

Apparently, lines 10 and 11 are tripping up filers. Seems to be some confusion with the yes/no check box telling the IRS if you received the check, then the following line to put in the total amount received.

The solution is pretty simple:

• If you check “yes, I received a check,” then you must put in the amount received in the correct line.
• If you check “no, I didn’t receive the check,” then for goodness sakes, don’t put an amount in the line.

Both errors get your return shipped to the Error Resolution System, where it’ll languish waiting for someone to realize it was a simple mistake. This can add weeks to your return. Double-check your return and consider using an electronic filing system, as those flag errors in your filing. A misplaced checkmark or an extra “0” where there shouldn’t be can mean the difference between a prompt, juicy tax check and hours on the phone with an IRS representative. Ouch.

Question? Call the IRS toll-free at 1-800-772-1213.