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Posts Tagged ‘IRS’

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IRS Refund Problems Cause Delays

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013

Many taxpayers are frustrated by IRS delays and a lack of information from Where’s My Refund

Going into this tax season we knew that refunds were going to be delayed. Right off the bat the IRS increased the time frame within which most people can expect their refund. Instead of the old 8-15 days it suddenly became “under 21 days.”

Then the fiscal cliff nuttiness in Congress pushed the start of the season back two weeks to January 30th. These two changes alone meant that lots of people would be getting their money 2-3 weeks later than usual.

But as the tax season has progressed, the IRS has run into even more problems. Before the start of the season this year the IRS made some changes to its system to try to cut down on instances of tax fraud and identity theft, which affected over a million taxpayers last year. This is a huge relief to anyone who’s had their Social Security number or refund stolen.

Once the season started, however, the IRS discovered some problems with this new system that required a little fine-tuning. These adjustments caused many returns to be delayed for an additional week. (more…)

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Category: Tax News
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Can I File My 2009 Taxes in 2013?

Thursday, January 24th, 2013

File your 2009 taxes by April 15, 2013 to get your refund

Yes, you can still file your 2009 taxes. And what’s more, you can still get a refund – but not for much longer. The IRS has a statute of limitations that only allows you to get a refund for three years after the original due date of a return.

This means that for 2009 taxes (originally due on April 15, 2010) the last day you can get a refund is April 15, 2013. After this date the government gets to keep your refund money, even though you’re technically still required to file a 2009 return.

If you haven’t filed your 2009 return yet, do so now. Don’t give away money that rightfully belongs to you.

Many people who are late on their taxes automatically assume that they’ll be punished for it. That’s not always the case. In fact, late filers are more likely to receive a refund than people who file during the regular tax season. And if you are due a refund you don’t have to pay any penalties or interest. (more…)

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Category: Tax Deadlines, Tax News, Tax Tips
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2013 IRS Calendar and Deadlines

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

These IRS filing deadlines determine when you need to file your 2012 return and pay certain 2013 taxes

January 2013

  • January 10 – Employees who received $20 or more in tips for December 2012 must report them to their employer.
  • January 15 – If you are not paying your 2012 taxes through withholding, you must pay the fourth and final installment of your 2012 estimated tax. However, you don’t have to pay this installment by January 15th if you file your 2012 return by January 31st.
  • January 30 – The IRS starts processing both e-filed and paper 2012 returns.
  • January 31 – If you are required to make estimated tax payments – but did not pay your last installment by January 15th – you can file your 2012 return and pay your tax liability by January 31st to avoid penalties for late payment of the last installment. (more…)

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Category: Tax News
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IRS Moves Start of Tax Season Forward to January 30th!

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

It’s official: January 30th will be the first day to e-file taxes in 2013!

Well, this was hardly a surprise. The IRS  announced Tuesday that it was kicking forward the opening of the 2013 tax season to Wednesday, Jan 30th. That’s a full eight days later than the previously announced January 22nd marker, which was itself set five days past the Jan 17 date on which the 2012 season began.

It would be cheap, at best, to blame the Taxman. After the protracted end of year mess in Washington, the agency could hardly have been expected to have all its t’s crossed and its many i’s dotted by mid-month. For anyone in need of a reminder, legislation to pull the nation off the fiscal cliff was only passed on the second day of the year!

“We have worked hard to open tax season as soon as possible,”  said IRS Acting Commissioner Steven Miller in a statement issued Tuesday.. “This date ensures we have the time we need to update and test our processing systems,” he added.

So when does tax season start in 2013? The old 22nd date, on which e-filing was set to begin, left open the option of paper filing your tax return hours after the din of the fireworks had died down, which is to say on Jan 1st. This will not be possible this time around.

Instead, both e-file and paper filing will have to wait for the end of January’s opening bell, further reducing the incentive to paper file. In the IRS’s estimate, more than 80 million taxpayers filed online last year. This is a number the agency’s brass is intent on increasing.

Starting Jan 30, the large majority of taxpayers, or roughly 120 million households, will be able to file their tax return, whether they go online or put pencil to paper. The rest, notably those claiming residential energy and some business credits, will have to wait longer, until late February and possibly into March.

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Category: Tax Deadlines, Tax News
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How to Prevent Tax Identity Theft

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013

Last year tax identity theft affected 1.1 million taxpayers. Use these tips to prevent someone from stealing your identity and filing a fraudulent return

Every year millions of taxpayers look forward to tax season as a time when a nice fat tax refund gets injected into bank accounts decimated by the spending sprees of the holiday season.

But for an increasingly large group of tax filers, tax season can be a scary time. That’s because every year more and more people become the victims of tax identity theft – their names and Social Security numbers stolen and fraudulent returns are filed under their names.

Not only do criminals now possess these unfortunate filers’ personal information – with which they can do any number of dastardly things – but these people also have their tax returns rejected by the IRS because every Social Security number can only be used once. They then have to print out their return out, fill out a lot of extra paperwork, and mail it all to the IRS, which slows the process down considerably. Many have to wait months, even upwards of a year, before they get their refunds.

In 2008 there were 51,700 cases of identity theft-related tax fraud. In 2011 that number was over 1.1 million. So even if you’ve never had your identity stolen, you still need to be vigilant about taking preventive measures. Don’t think it can’t happen to you. Following these steps will save you a lot of hassle and heartache: (more…)

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Category: Tax Tips
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How to File Taxes Early

Thursday, December 27th, 2012

Learn how to file taxes early so that your return can get to the front of the line and you can receive your refund as quickly as possible.

Wallet hard-hit by the holidays? Join the crowd. The only thing more depressing than picking mutilated wrapping paper off the floor is taking a look at your credit card statement. Yikes!

Thankfully, Uncle Sam is here to save the day. Soon after you ring in the New Year it will be time to take account of the old by filing a 2012 tax return. And for many people, this means a sizable tax refund. If every year you pay for your holiday spending with the tax refund you expect to receive in January, you’re hardly alone. But that means it’s imperative you get your refund as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, this year IRS e-file doesn’t start until January 22nd, a week later than in recent years. But you can get a jump on the start of the season by learning how to file taxes early. In fact on RapidTax you can prepare your return as early as January 3rd.

“What’s the point of preparing my return before I can file it?” you may ask. Well, filing early has several advantages. (more…)

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Category: Tax Deadlines, Tax Tips
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IRS 2012 Tax Changes

Friday, December 21st, 2012

Look over these important changes to the tax code before you file your 2012 taxes

Every year the IRS tweaks the tax code at least a little bit: introducing new credits and deductions, discontinuing temporary provisions of the tax code, and adjusting various numbers for inflation.

Some years, depending on what happens in Congress, there are really big changes that end up affecting everyone pretty dramatically. But for the 2012 tax year the changes were relatively small. Still, you should be aware of them before you go gallivanting off into the tax preparation sunset.

Here, without further ado, are the tax changes for the 2012 year:

  • Income limits for excluding education savings bond interest increased – Your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) must be less than $87,850 if you’re a single filer or less than $139,250 if you’re married filing jointly or a qualifying widow(er) in order to exclude education savings bond interest. (more…)

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Category: Tax News
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How to Contact the IRS or State Tax Authority

Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

Need to contact the IRS? Here’s what you need to know.

When in the course of the tax season it becomes necessary to contact the IRS, you may have to wade into the tangled thickets of the nation’s tax bureaucracy. But never fear! Talking to the IRS is not as dreadful as it seems on first take.

Individuals can reach the IRS toll-free at 1-800-829-1040, Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. your local time (though Alaska and Hawaii should follow Pacific Time).

The IRS has a special phone number for those who believe they are the victim of identity theft. If this has happened to you call 1-800-908-4490.

When you call, you will have to navigate through an automatic system designed to direct your call to the right department. If you wish to bypass the automated system, press “0” repeatedly and you will be immediately routed to a live agent. Try it: it works!

(more…)

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Category: Tax Tips
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A Brief History of Tax Day

Thursday, April 12th, 2012

This year the IRS filing deadline does not fall on its normal gloomy day

April 15 is a day that will live in infamy. In 1865, it was the day that Abraham Lincoln died, after being shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth in Ford’s Theater the night before, less than a week after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. And it was in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912 that the Titanic sunk two and a half hours after striking an iceberg, killing 1,517 and separating Jack and Rose only a few hours after they had discovered their one true love.

In America, April 15 has the further distinction of being Tax Day (at least most years). Why is this exactly? Is it because the government wanted to make sure the federal tax due date fell on an appropriately somber day? Or was it just an arbitrary decision made by a government that consistently fails to apply reasoning or foresight to its actions?

The latter, unfortunately. This is America, after all. When income tax was first introduced to America – aside from a brief cameo during the Civil War, which interestingly appears several times in our tale – the 16th Amendment adopted in 1913 designated March 1 as the day that income taxes would be due. Then when Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1918, it pushed the date back two weeks to March 15. The date changed again in 1955 when Congress made revisions to the tax code and decided to make the deadline a whole month later on April 15.

Why, you may ask. Well the government has been coy about supplying a concrete answer but the IRS has stated that it wanted to spread out tax season to make it easier to process the ever increasing number of returns flowing into the agency. It has also been suggested that the government pushed the date back so that it could hold on to refund money longer. (more…)

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Category: Tax Trivia
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IRS Form 4868 – How to File a Tax Extension

Monday, April 9th, 2012

To get an IRS extension, file Form 4868 before Tuesday, April 17

We’re down to the last week of the tax season, and if you’re not scrambling to finish your return, you’re probably wondering, “How do I get a tax extension?”

The answer is IRS Form 4868 [Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return]. File it by April 17 and you can get an extra six months to do your return.

You can file Form 4868 electronically. There’s no need to go through the hassle of printing it out and mailing it in to the IRS.

Plus, you can take comfort knowing that you will receive an electronic acknowledgement as soon as you e-file the form. You won’t have to deal with the stress of waiting to find out whether your request for an extension was accepted – and then scramble to get your return done if it wasn’t.

When you e-file your extension, or your actual return for that matter, be sure to have a copy of your 2010 tax return on hand. You’ll need some information, specifically your 2010 AGI, in order to verify your identity. (more…)

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Category: Tax Tips
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