Tag: Accounting

IRS Forms To File Back Taxes

IRS Forms To File Back Taxes

Even if one is certain there are no mistakes in the forms when following federal tax procedures, a little shiver goes down a taxpayers spine at the very thought of a letter arriving from the IRS. The Internal Revenue Service blundered recently when the office sent penalty notices to business owners who had requested an extension in filing tax return Form 5500 to file back taxes. An error in programming caused the mistake regarding the required Form 5558, the Application for an Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns, before filing Form 5500. Normally, taxpayers are penalized if the Form 5500 is late or unfinished. However, the notice to those taxpayers who filed the proper forms in the right order received the penalty notice, CP 283, Penalty Charged on Your 5500 Return.

Legal research
Legal research (Photo credit: gwilmore (I HATE THE NEW LAYOUT!))

A letter of explanation concerning the inaccuracy was instituted November 8th to IRS employees. Citizens received a penalty notice before the Form 5558 had an opportunity to post to the accounts. Therefore, letters of explanation were prepared while telephone assistors and tax examiners were instructed to apologize to callers. Penalties were removed in all cases, up to five if the caller was a person with multiple plans or clients. If the person was responsible for more than 5 accounts, they were requested to solicit their abatement in writing. The Internal Revenue Service accepted responsibility for the penalty notice to the taxpayers and the charges were removed. It seems filing back taxes can be simple most of the time, but one small computer error can create a fiasco of work.

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How To File A Tax Extension

How To File A Tax Extension

Each year, millions of people find that they are unable to file their taxes in time for the April deadline.  While the IRS can be very unforgiving about some aspects of their collections, one thing that they do make available for all tax payers is a tax extension available for several months.  You can use TurboTax 2013 software in order to take advantage of this tax extension.

IRS Form 1040X, 2005 revision
IRS Form 1040X, 2005 revision (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

E-File First

Begin by using the TurboTax 2013 software to actually file you taxes, putting in as much information about income, securities, investments, and deductions that you are able to, even if it is only a smidgen.  You want to do this now so that there are no surprises you may have missed once you sit down to do the full job.  Once you have that done, find out when you are able to finish the extension to the closest date.  Log into TurboTax 2013 software and either e-file an extension or print out the paper copy.

Paper Or Digital

While most people might be more comfortable with filing their tax extension by mail, you can do so digitally with the TurboTax 2013 software.  In fact, since this process is instant, it is not recommended that you file an extension by mail since it will take a few days to reach the IRS offices and runs the risk of becoming overdue if it is not postmarked by April 15th.  Once you have sent it in, you have until October 15th of 2013 to fill out the full tax form.

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Handling IRS Notices For 2017

Handling IRS Notices For 2013

Once you file your taxes, they are in the hands of professionals at the IRS. If you get IRS notices for 2013, you will need to take action immediately to avoid any penalties for ignoring the government’s request for further information or payment. Typically, IRS notices arrive after the tax year has passed and taxes have been filed. However, you may also hear from the IRS in advance of a tax year, especially if taxes you have recently filed will impact what you owe or receive as a refund in the 2013 tax year.

If you receive IRS notices for 2013, don’t panic. It’s quite possibly you are simply being asked for some additional information. Take your notice to your accountant or tax professional if you have one. If you prefer to do your own taxes and you use a system such as TurboTax, you may need to file your notice until it is time to do your 2013 taxes. Put it in a place that you keep all of your tax documents so you remember it at tax time.

The IRS will always offer to help you when you receive a notice from them. Look for a contact phone number on the notification and if you do not understand what you are being asked to do, call a representative and talk about your case. Sometimes, the IRS will notice a correction that needs to be made to your taxes, which will affect the refund or the amount owed. Whatever you do, don’t ignore notices from the IRS. They will not go away.

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Jackson Hewitt’s Tax Advice For Recent College Graduates

Jackson Hewitt’s Tax Advice For Recent College Graduates

Jackson Hewitt operates around the country and offers various tax services for taxpayers. With that in mind, millions of people file their state and federal income returns annually. This company helps many of those very individuals on a regular basis while competing with TurboTax 2013. Recently, Jackson Hewitt released its biggest tax tips for college graduates. Recent graduates often make some big mistakes on their returns that are more than avoidable.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service
Jackson Hewitt Tax Service (Photo credit: kenteegardin)

For instance, most students can deduct their student loan interest on their return. Only interest paid from a qualifying loan counts, though, and the maximum deduction is $2,500. Most college students are claimed as dependents as they attend school. However, a graduate should claim themselves independent afterwards to maximize their tax benefits. Someone that is considered independent for tax purposes can claim many more deductions than someone considered a dependent.

Jackson Hewitt reminds recent graduates of other tax issues, too. Thousands of students receive scholarships, which are sometimes taxable, depending upon the circumstances. Typically, funds paid directly to a student are completely taxable. On the other hand, graduates starting a new job should check out their withholding. Higher income means more taxes must be paid during the year. Nobody wants to find that they owe money to the government.

Filing taxes during college is often different than doing so after graduation. Of course, most graduates see some big changes in the coming years. There is no reason a person should fail to take advantage of the tax advice that’s available. The right information can save someone thousands of dollars in taxes per year. Plus, most people don’t understand the tax system very well, and this advice always helps.

Millions of people will use Jackson Hewitt or TurboTax 2013 to file their taxes this year. Unfortunately, the deadline is fast approaching, and late filing can cost a person greatly. It’s important to take a look at one’s tax situation and take available deductions or breaks. Too many people fail to do so and pay the costs, especially college graduates. In the end, taxes come every year, and there are plenty of ways to minimize the burden.

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Making Filing Much Easier

Filing Back Taxes

The approach that you take when filing back taxes will make a very big difference in your life. It is important for you to avoid putting off dealing with your taxes, this is a mistake that many people make. If you allow time to pass, you run the risk of forgetting and having to deal with panic that results from an approaching deadline. As such, you want to take advantage of software that would help you to streamline the process of dealing with your 2008 taxes. All you will need to do is enter your financial information and answer a few questions. These questions are designed to help determine how much you are responsible for while limiting your financial burden. The process is very quick, it will allow you to get rid of the stress that comes along with having to file back taxes.

Tax Preparation
Tax Preparation (Photo credit: agrilifetoday)

Additionally, you may want to speak with a professional that would be able to look at your financial situation in order to determine your liability. People tend to think that they do not need help when it comes to dealing with taxes. However, this is simply not the case. Following the guidelines set forward is the only way that you will be able to avoid making a mistake. Software can help to safeguard you while reducing the amount of time that it would otherwise take to get this portion of your life in order going forward.

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Benefits Of Using Turbo Tax Advance

TurboTax advance

Getting your taxes done is never a fun time. However, you may not realize you can easily do your own taxes, if you have all the information readily available. This is when you should know more about the benefits of TurboTax advance. Once you know about the benefits of using turbotax advance, you will not want to send your taxes out to any other company, nor will you dread doing your taxes anymore.

The first benefit you can find is this program is easy to use. With the easy to use interface, you just have to put in the information in the proper spots. Then you can have the information calculated out for you automatically making it easy for you to take care of the taxes on a regular basis.

Another benefit you can find is the program is up to date on all the latest tax law changes. With it being so up to date, you do not have to be concerned about the program not providing you with the breaks you have earned or even the credits you should be getting. Without this, you can easily miss out on some of the credits or deductions and end up paying more in taxes.

Something else you will like is the program searches out any of the items you need to have to get a refund. When you have this type of program searching out for you, it is easy to know you are finding all you can qualify for. Then you can get your money back, rather then having to pay.

Using a program like turbo tax advance is a great thing to do. When you are able to use this program, you can easily get your taxes done without the headache or worry about them being done wrong.

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