What to Do With Your Taxes In Case You Can’t Pay Them?

The extension on filing your taxes is almost coming to an end. Is there anything you can do in case you can’t pay your taxes? It is important for you to pay whatever you can and do your return filing by the scheduled date. We discuss some additional steps here which might be helpful for you.

Credit Cards

The taxes can be charged on your MasterCard, American Express card, Discover card, or Visa card. Going in this direction, you can use one out of two sources mentioned below:… Read more at 2010 Tax.

What to Do With Your Taxes In Case You Can’t Pay Them?

Credit Cards

The taxes can be charged on your MasterCard, American Express card, Discover card, or Visa card. Going in this direction, you can use one out of two sources mentioned below:

Official Payments Corporation

Pay tax by calling 1-800-2PAY-TAX (toll free: 1-800-272-9829)

Visit the web site: www.officialpayments.com

Link2Gov Corporation

Pay tax by calling 1-888-PAY-1040 (toll free: 1-888-729-1040)

Visit the web site: www.pay1040.com

In case you can’t pay using your credit card, then you can make an installment agreement, in which you can pay the balance in the form of monthly installments. There is also the option of reducing your tax amount by participating in a compromise program offered.

Form 9465 needs to be filled and attached with your return filing if you want the installment option of paying your taxes. For total taxes not exceeding $ 25,000 excluding interest and penalties and which can be paid within 5 years, the process of approval has been streamlined by the IRS. The proposed amount of monthly installment and the payment date should be specified correctly beforehand. You also must guarantee that the payments will be made.

For an installment agreement, a fee of $ 43 is charged by the IRS. On unpaid taxes, there will be an interest as well as a late payment charge. Normally 0.5 percent per month on unpaid tax is charged as late payment penalty but it is not fixed. This rate may be reduced to 0.25 percent for any month while your installment agreement is applicable and you file your returns on time taking your extensions into consideration. You may need to pay up to a maximum of 25 percent of penalty for late payment.

If you fail to file your returns by the due date after taking an extension, will result in a late payment charge being levied upon you. This charge is normally around 5 percent of the total unpaid tax per month. You may have to pay a maximum of 25 percent of penalty charges in case of failure to file your returns or pay taxes on time.

Summary

Even if you lack funds, the IRS expects you to adhere to the rules. You should file your returns on time by any means. If you’ve filed, the IRS will take care of the payment issues. You don’t worry. Remember that the majority of Americans face the same problem.

Income Tax Returns: Top 7 Reasons For Filing Them On Time

The top 7 reasons why you should not be late to file your income tax returns are discussed here.

(i) To avoid penalties for late filing

Delinquent taxes attract substantial penalties. These are in addition to the interest due for you.

(ii) To receive a better service from the accountant

Income Tax Returns: Top 7 Reasons For Filing Them On Time

The top 7 reasons why you should not be late to file your income tax returns are discussed here.

(i) To avoid penalties for late filing

Delinquent taxes attract substantial penalties. These are in addition to the interest due for you.

(ii) To receive a better service from the accountant

The accountant will be able to begin your tax preparations sooner, if you can get all your paper work done earlier. Moreover, you can find lot of opportunities to implement strategies for saving on your taxes. But if you are already late, then your accountant won’t be much help to you regarding this. Suppose there are some profits in your corporation subject to huge penalties; in such cases for late filing, the accountant might be hesitant retaining those profits.

(iii) To avoid criminal charges

In cases of not filing tax returns for many years, there may be criminal charges against you including tax evasion.

(iv) To prevent bankruptcy

In general, people who are unable to file tax returns regularly have poor business management. They are not up to date with their own accounting and bookkeeping; they just think that they know their financial position and how they’re performing. It’s the beginning of a financial calamity.

(v) To have a better relation with the tax authorities

The people who continuously file late come into the notice of the department of taxation. Disobedience might lead to audits, forcefully collecting taxes, or other legal activities. Moreover, in case you have a clean history of compliance and cooperation with the income tax department, then at times of need the tax department won’t hesitate to give extraordinary consideration to your matter and provide leniency.

(vi) To obtain finance

If you are unable to show your proper income portfolio, then it becomes difficult for you to obtain financing. The assessment notices provided by the tax department give more assurance to the banks regarding your income claims. Moreover, if you are not filing your present income tax returns, then how is it possible to know about your hidden tax liabilities? What is your own record-keeping state? Without good financial information, how are you running your business? In case you are asking for a loan, the bank might hesitate to offer it under these circumstances.

(vii) To lighten stress and worry

Most people feel guilty about filing the tax returns late. They are actually afraid of getting contacted by the tax authorities, auditing, seizing of properties, criminal prosecution, interests and penalties, etc. Whatever be the actual situation, these worries might worsen the matter. So file your income tax returns in a timely manner and save yourself some unwanted stress and worry.

The ABC of Filing Tax Returns for the Deceased

Death is an inevitable part of a human life. When a person dies, he leaves his mortal body but taxes may also remain attached to him or her. In fact after death, one final tax return needs to be filed for the deceased person.

After death, a person’s finances are immediately converted into something which is called an estate. The estate then has the responsibility of filing a tax return after covering the finances that include income and distributions to the heirs and other beneficiaries of the deceased.

When someone passes … Read more at 2010 Tax.

The ABC of Filing Tax Returns for the Deceased

When someone passes away, an executor or trustee takes charge of the estate of that person. The exact designation depends on the type of estate they are intended to plan for. The executor or trustee will sign the tax return on behalf of the deceased person and will declare him or her as deceased.

For a deceased person, the final personal tax return is filed in Form 1040. Yes, the same tax form that is used for any personal tax return will work for filing a return for a deceased person.

The day of death of the deceased person is taken as the cut-off date to ascertain how much taxes are actually due by him or her. Whatever income the person may have made in that year before the date of his or her death is covered in the personal tax return. And, the income earned after the death is to be filed as the estate tax return, which is the responsibility of the estate.

In most cases deductions are certainly going to give a joy in case of tax returns for the deceased. You can claim a full deduction and any other expenses for the year that precedes the tax payer’s death not including the date on which the person passed away. In other words, you don’t have to worry about any calculations that are based off the days that come after death. For example, if a person passes away in the month of February, you are eligible for full write-offs for the rest of the year.

When the deceased is supposed to get tax refund, the IRS will consider releasing a refund if the deceased is reported as being married prior to his or her death. If the person was married, the spouse is entitled to receive the refund. If the person was not married, you need to file a Form 1310 to be eligible for the refund. This form is basically a declaration that states – you have the right to claim the refund and absolve the IRS of any involvement in any disputes that may arise in future.

The Process of Electronic Tax Preparation and Filing

Just when you are faced with the tax season, you may come across the latest editions of popular tax preparation programs claiming to make tax filing as easy as can be for any layman. It is important to know which one is the most suitable for you and which electronic tax filing solutions are the most popular. This write-up provides you with valuable information on tax preparation options and the popularity of electronic tax filing.

What is it that you pay attention to while choosing a tax preparation solution? Beginners should opt … Read more at 2010 Tax.

The Process of Electronic Tax Preparation and Filing

What is it that you pay attention to while choosing a tax preparation solution? Beginners should opt for tax software that provides step by step guidance through the digital tax preparation interview and also includes interview topics which would not be difficult too understand or answer.

What makes the tax preparation software so useful is the fact that it allows the user to try out figures and hypothetical situations. Several of these programs are equipped with importing features that provides the scope for importing data from other programs into the tax preparation software directly.

As electronic tax preparation and filing are capable of carrying out extensive calculations and associated automatic checks, it has a negligible error rate, less than 1 percent. This implies that if you use the electronic tax preparation software, you can be almost fully ensure that you will have an error-free and complete tax return.

As high speed internet connections are becoming widespread and internet security is advancing at a tremendous speed, the number of tax preparations being done online is going up. This system of filing has been agreed unanimously to be safe, easy and error-free. With an overwhelming amount of online resources readily available, there is hardly any difference between the capabilities of the taxpayer and a professional.

Whatever it is, this much is certain that electronic tax preparation is the word of the day in terms of efficiency and popularity. It is owing to this popularity and reliability that taxpayers would resort to the use of tax software to file their tax returns. What a lot of taxpayers don’t know is that they can prepare and e-file their taxes every time they access the internet. The IRS Free File program has been designed to help those taxpayers who file their returns independently and still resort to filing paper returns. However, it should be noted that electronic filing is not allowed in the case of filing taxes for previous years.

Online tax filing allows you to prepare and e-file your income tax returns. And the process is wonderfully easy, speedy, error-free and safe, not very different from net banking. It might be a good idea to try out the electronic filing this year if you are willing to give it a shot. Being able to manage and file your taxes would definitely make you feel good and self sufficient.

It is very common for people to be scared of the idea of filing your taxes and you are probably wishing it would be easier this year. It is actually possible, with a fair amount of planning, to make tax preparation much easier and not be faced with any harsh surprises.

Selecting between Standard & Itemized Deductions

Filing a tax return annually is an important part of your business activity. But as you prepare your tax return, there is one question that may pop up a lot. And that is whether you should itemize your deductions or prefer to go with the standard deduction that the IRS generally provides to its tax payers.

Selecting between Standard & Itemized Deductions

Theoretically tax deductions are considered a very simple component of the tax reporting system. But ask someone who prepares his tax return himself and you will learn it’s not as simple as it is usually considered to be. To add to your worries is the lengthy and complicated tax forms. Keeping those complexities in mind it is often wise to just rely on the standard deduction given by the IRS. Or you could decide to go for itemized deductions. So, it’s important to find which deduction system will work best for you.

The standard deduction does not require any calculations or supporting documents and thus is the easiest way to go. You only need to calculate your annual gross income and then submit the calculated amount for your classification. The amount of taxable income differs based on your filing status. The eligible filing status’ are single, married (filing jointly or separately) or Head of Household. To qualify for head of household you have to be single and the primary or sole source of income for a household that includes qualifying dependants.

People may ridicule your decision to take the standard deduction. The fact is that with some types of tax issues, the standard deduction may not be the most suitable option. For people who have fairly simple financial transactions with a limited number of deductions, the standard deduction is usually the perfect choice. For example, if you are an employee of a company with an income of $50,000, you rent your home and don’t have any major medical bills; you are definitely a person more suited for the standard deduction. And whether an itemized deduction will work for you or not may not be clear to you unless you attempt to itemize your deductions in a rough draft of your tax return.

Itemizing your deductions means categorization of every possible deduction. Itemizing of deductions always works best if your financial transactions involve a significant number and volume of tax deductions. For example, if you own a home which entitles you to deduct your mortgage interest and your medical bills are stupendous, you would certainly be better off if you itemize your deductions. In reality, there is no ideal condition or situation where itemizing your deductions is the only option. The example quoted above aims at giving you an idea of the situation where you can itemize your deduction.

In nutshell, if your financial transactions are simple, the standard deduction may be your best choice while in the case of a complicated financial life, itemizing your deductions may optimize your tax return.

So, when your deductions are figured out, the next thing is to find out the taxable income. In order to get your net taxable income, you will have to subtract these deductions from your adjusted gross income. The tax is then determined using the tax tables.

How to Acquire a Federal Income Tax Refund

‘You are entitled to an income tax refund’ – these are words that would be music for any taxpayer’s ears. A taxpayer enjoys a federal income tax refund if the amount of the pending payable tax is smaller than the total of the refundable tax credits claimed and withholding paid. A lot of individual taxpayers can obtain federal income tax returns through earned Income credit, as refund of overpayment of tax for one or several years. However, not every taxpayer is happy with the concept of a large income tax refund. This is because income tax refund is looked upon as money borrowed by the Government and repaid, minus the interest. Some others look at income tax refund as a savings strategy, being happy to get income tax refunds every year. It should always be kept in mind that it is worse to owe money to the Government than to get IRS tax refunds.

Quite a few options are available when putting a tax refund in the taxpayer’s hands. Refund anticipation loans, standard paper filing, electronic filing with direct deposit, rapid tax refunds are the choices and the first and the last in the list are the most preferred choices by taxpayers.

Since we are in an advanced computer age, with an added bonus called the internet, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has fast reacted to the advantages of electronic filing. Thanks to the great inventions mentioned above, filing income tax returns, making tax refunds and amount due to the IRS have picked up considerable speed. Let us take a moment to review the varied IRS refund options, and the specific advantages each one has for the individual taxpayer.

The most common and familiar method of filing, the standard paper filing, is gradually becoming obsolete. It probably would not take very long for this ancient system of paper filing to be completely obliterated and the electronic tax filing methods to emerge as worthy substitutes. In case you happen to be one of the very few Americans who still rely on the method of paper filing, you would need to wait for around six weeks to receive your tax refunds. The speed that the internet has made the six week wait a considerably long time to obtain tax refunds.

Comparatively, the electronic method of filing federal income tax return, which is gaining fast popularity at the expense of the old paper filing system, brings you the tax returns in around 10-14 days. This is, of course, much less time than the six weeks required for paper filings to bring returns. What’s better, electronic filing does not involve any extra fees, and one can choose to file tax returns through several local public access facilities.

On the other hand, the refund anticipation loan works a little differently. The refund anticipation loan requires administration by a tax professional through a well-established connection with a financial and lending institution. A number of excellent options are available, as well as the number of qualified and competent tax professionals to help you file your income tax returns, though the taxpayer is entitled to shell out a loan fee or a nominal interest fee in lieu of obtaining the refund anticipation loan. A number of restrictions apply on the receipt of a refund application loan, some of which affect some individuals. For example, those who owe back tax, back child support, liens and judgment etc. do not qualify for the refund anticipation loan. Usually it so happens that individuals opting for the refund application loan receive earned income credit and have their income tax refunds reach up to thousands of dollars. All it takes for the refund anticipation loan to be processed is three hours and reaches the taxpayer within late afternoon, as long as everything goes according to plan.

Since the bank product providers charge higher interest rates and the tax preparers charge higher processing fees, it eats into the money obtained by the taxpayer; however, many of these taxpayers take the extra expenses in their stride as all they want is a quick tax refund. This phenomenon only goes to prove once again that our modern society thrives on the operation of instant gratification. Individuals who opt for electronic filing of tax returns and make the choice of having the amount deposited directly get their work done in not more than 10-15 days. It’s a common belief that two weeks is a pretty good turnaround time for many taxpayers, but usually the time taken for the return is inversely proportional to the amount of the federal income tax refund.

It might appear to be yet another strategy for the system to make money out of the poor; since normally it is the poor who are associated with the earned income credit tax refunds, which, especially in cases of families having two or three dependant members, could be considerably large. It is wise to avoid refund loans as much as possible. They involve high costs. It is a good idea to wait for your federal income tax refund so that the whole of it is for you to keep to yourself.

Category: Tax Preparation