Top #5 things to do if you have missed the tax deadline

by Mounica Kota | Aug 20, 2020 | e-filing, IRS, tax deadline, US Treasury Department

Top #5 things to do if you have missed the tax deadline

With response to the outbreak of the pandemic COVID-19, the US Treasury Department and the IRS had provided special tax filing and payment relief to the Americans. The deadline for tax returns had been extended by the IRS from 15^th April 2020 to 15^thJuly 2020. The IRS had continuously urged the Americans to file their tax returns before the completion of the tax deadline or request for an extension in case of ineligibility to file or pay by the declared deadline.

However, the federal tax deadline has come and gone now. If you have missed your federal tax deadline and have not also filed for an extension then, you should have an idea about the course of action you can follow now.

Go ahead and file as soon as you can

If you owe money to be paid to the IRS, then you must file your tax returns soon to avoid paying any penalties to the IRS.
Even though the IRS would charge penalties on you for the late filing of your returns but that would be somewhat less than the penalties charged for not filing the tax returns at all.
The IRS would have received Form 1099-Misc and Form W-2 which would reflect your income earned for the year. You must file your returns immediately so that the IRS does not show that you need to pay more taxes.
Moreover, you might be having a tax refund and it may not come if you have a tax penalty to pay. In case you have a tax refund and do not file your taxes then you would have to wait for three years of the tax return due date.

Make arrangements for the payment

If you are not filing your tax returns on time because you are not sure about how you will arrange for your payment amount then, you can follow the below-mentioned steps.

You must file your tax returns soon, pay whatever amount you can arrange, and then request a payment plan from the IRS.
There are several options available with the IRS such as a request for a short term payment plan, offer in compromise, long term installment plan, or temporarily delay collections in some cases.
By the short term payment plan, you can pay the amount you owe to the IRS within 120 days. Similarly, by long term installment agreements, you can pay your amount over 6 years.
In case your total taxes, penalties, and interest are up to $50,000, you can request for an installment agreement online.

Information about the penalties

If you have not filed your tax returns or not paid your taxes on time, you should be aware of the penalties which you would have to pay.

Failure-to-file penalty – This penalty would be 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month your tax return filing is late until 5 months. However, if you are filing your tax returns late by more than 60 days you; you would have to pay whichever is less i.e. 100% of the federal taxes you owe or a specific dollar amount which can be adjusted annually for inflation. This “specific dollar amount “is $435 for those returns which are due after 1^st January 2020.
Failure-to-pay penalty – The IRS would charge you 0.5% of your unpaid taxes for each month of unpaid due up to 25%. Interest would be accrued on the unpaid taxes and would be equal to the Federal Short term rate plus 3%.

In most cases, the failure-to-file penalty is much more than the failure-to-pay penalty. So, it is advisable that if you are not able to pay the taxes on time you should at least file your tax returns on time.

Use e-filing

If you have not filed your tax returns yet, you can still do it online by using the e-filing method. If you are using the conventional methods of tax filing, it will take a longer time to be received by the IRS and to be processed by the IRS. If the filing has been done by electronic means, the IRS would process the return requests within 21 days from the date of receipt of the return.

Do not ignore

You should be completely aware of your specific tax situation. The sooner your tax issues are addressed the better. If you continually keep on ignoring your taxes, you would have to face some serious penalties like

IRS can file a notice of a federal tax lien.
Your property might be seized.
IRS could forfeit your refund.
In serious cases, your passport might be revoked or charges could be filed against you for tax evasion.

Conclusion

It is advisable not to avoid your tax-related problem, do good research, seek help from professionals, and work toward finding a solution to your problem.

References

Step-by-step guideline on what to do if you cannot afford to pay your taxes

by Mounica Kota | Aug 15, 2020 | IRS, tax deadline, Tax Extension, tax return

Step-by-step guideline on what to do if you cannot afford to pay your taxes

The IRS had extended the tax return filing and payment deadline until 15^th July 2020 for the Americans to alleviate the financial crisis faced by millions of Americans due to the pandemic COVID-19. However, the pandemic has led to the unemployment of millions and millions of Americans. So, even with the extension in the return filing and tax payment deadlines, it is quite difficult for some Americans to pay their taxes on time.

The IRS has a simple reminder for the taxpayers who cannot pay their entire amount of federal taxes which they owe. They should file their tax returns on time and pay as much as possible. By this, the interest and penalties of taxpayers would reduce and there would not be much accumulation of interest to pay back.

If a taxpayer plans to pay his taxes as much as he can afford, then the IRS has some convenient methods to do this i.e. by IRS Direct Pay Method, Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), Electronic Funds Withdrawal, Debit or Credit card, or by Check/Money Order, etc.

However, for those taxpayers who feel payment of taxes are unaffordable at the moment; they can follow a detailed plan.

Step1 – File by the new 15^th July deadline even if it feels difficult to afford the payment on time

As said earlier, due to the pandemic COVID-19 the deadline to pay the Federal taxes has been pushed to 15^th July 2020. However, with this extra time, taxpayers should not wait much more to file their taxes. Taxpayers must consult tax professionals for filling the forms. By this, the credits and deductions to lower the bill can be found out easily.

Many taxpayers might consider the option of the deadline extension. However, the extension would provide more time for filing the tax returns but not for

paying the taxes. Even if there is an extension, the tax payment must be done on time. So, an extension should only be filed by the taxpayers if due to some reason the taxpayer is not able to file the tax returns on time.

Step2 – Pay as much as possible by the tax deadline

This is also recommended by the IRS that the taxpayers should wait till the deadline, try to arrange for the tax amount, and pay off as much as possible. Some taxpayers even prefer discarding some of their unwanted materials in exchange for cash which can be utilized in payment of their taxes which are due.

Taxpayers can contact the IRS on the toll-free number to discuss alternate payment options. IRS might help the defaulter taxpayers with other payment options like a short-term extension to pay the taxes, an

agreement for installment, an offer in compromise, or by temporary delay in the collection by reporting that the taxpayer’s account is currently not collectible until the taxpayers can afford to make the payment.

Step3 – Keep paying the taxes you owe even after filing

Even after Tax Day, taxpayers would have a period of around 1 month or 2 months before the IRS would contact them about the rest of the tax payment. During this available time of 1month or 2 months, taxpayers should try to pay out as much as possible to reduce the balance left out.

In case the taxpayers are not able to make their complete payment by this time, the IRS would suggest options for making the rest of the payments in monthly installments.

Step4 – Rectify the problem

You should approach a tax professional and try to work with him or his team to ensure that you are not stuck with the problem of unaffordability related to tax payments. This can be feasible either by setting aside profits from a side business or by the adjustment of withholdings from your paychecks.

Your issues can be best identified and rectified by the tax professionals so that these issues are avoided in the future.

Conclusion

Hence, you can follow these steps and try to pay off as much tax as you can. Avoiding the aggregation of penalties is important to avoid any further financial and economic hardships.

References

Income Tax Refund V/S Owning tax

by Mounica Kota | Aug 12, 2020 | additional debts, COVID - 19, Income Tax Refund, IRS

Income Tax Refund V/S Owning tax

In these challenging times of financial distress caused due to the pandemic COVID-19, receipt of your tax refund is like a gift. If you are receiving a substantial amount as your tax return you can use it for various useful purposes during these difficult times. However, if you have still not received your tax refund and are wondering what could be the reason; it’s time to analyze the possibility i.e. the IRS seized your tax refund.

You might also wonder that “would you obtain your tax refund if you owe tax to the IRS?” So, let us understand the various aspects related to the scenario in which you apprehend the receipt of your tax

When will the IRS seize your tax refund?

If you owe taxes to the IRS, then you would not be able to get back your tax refund. The IRS has the power to garnish your refund to offset the tax debts you owe. Some of the major tax debts which can lead to the IRS’s seizure of your tax refunds are listed below.

a.Back Taxes

You are said to have back taxes when you have any taxes unpaid or partially paid at federal, state, or local level. If you have tax debts at any of these levels, then your tax refunds might be garnished by the IRS. In such cases, the IRS would send you warning notice about a part of the entire of your tax refund being used to offset your back taxes. Even if you have selected for options like the IRS installment agreement plan, the IRS can still take your tax refund back and pay your tax debts by using them.

If you are willing to relieve yourself from the tax debts, you can do so by filing for bankruptcy. If you are filing for bankruptcy, the IRS would provide you with three payment priorities.

Priority and non-dischargeable unsecured tax debt – These are those debts that cannot be discharged and must be cleared first before any other debt such as trust fund taxes, taxes that are assessable but have not been assessed, etc.
Non-priority and non-dischargeable unsecured tax debt – These taxes are not placed on the top priority and they cannot be discharged. These taxes include taxes on fraudulent returns, taxes filed late within two years of the date of filing, etc.
Non-priority and dischargeable unsecured tax debt–These taxes are unsecured, are not prioritized, and can be forgiven too.

b.Child and Spousal Support

In case you are a parent who is providing child support, the Child Support Agency of your state will inform the Treasury Department about your child support debt. The Treasury Department will send you a pre-offset notice which informs you about how much debt you owe the working of the offset program and the ways by which you can pay off your child support debts. This same procedure is applicable for spousal support as well for tax debt offset by the IRS.

c.Other additional debts

In addition to the Child and spousal support, back taxes there are some other debts also which can be garnished by the IRs through the seizure of your tax refunds. These can be your Student loan payments or your State Unemployment compensation.

If you have not paid your federally-insured student loans, the IRS can seize your tax refund for the payment of your outstanding debts related to a Student loan. Moreover, the US Education Department has the authority to let your employer garnish up to 15% of your income until all your loan debts are cleared.

The IRS can also seize your tax refunds in case of any unemployment compensation collected by you for which you were not eligible. The Unemployment program of your State can ask the IRS or the Treasury Department to offset your tax refunds.

How can you obtain your complete tax refund?

If you wish to obtain your entire tax refund without your refund being garnished for tax debt settlement, then you must pay your taxes on time and in full amount. In case, you have other debts like student loans or spousal support debt, etc. you can try to pay your debts as much as you can. This will help you in obtaining some more tax refunds.

If you are facing tax issues, you must sincerely work towards the resolution of these issues by opting for professional assistance. In the year 2018, over 13 million Americans owed more than any amount of $128 billion to the IRS for taxes and penalties. You should try to find out about the various tax issue resolution services such as the Installment Agreement, Stair Step Agreement, Partial Pay Agreement, etc. for resolving your tax problems.

Conclusion

Hence, a tax refund is important for everyone, especially during these financially difficult times. You must file your tax returns on time and pay your taxes on time. You must accurately file your taxes to make the maximum utilization of your return obtained.

Reference

https://www.communitytax.com/getting-tax-refund-if-you-owe-irs/

Do you owe taxes to the IRS?

by Mounica Kota | Aug 9, 2020 | IRS, owe taxes, penalties and interest, taxes

Do you owe taxes to the IRS?

There can be scenarios when you realize that you owe taxes to the IRS after you have finished your tax returns or you owe more than what you can afford at the moment. However, you should not panic in such circumstances and must try to find out options by which you can pay off your taxes.

In the first place, you must find out how much tax you owe to the IRS.

How much do I owe to the IRS?

You can use the tax refund calculators to find out about the tax you owe to the IRS. By the time you complete your tax refund, you would know exactly how much you owe to the IRS. You must check out all the deductions and credits carefully which you think you are qualified for. Moreover, you can compare your tax returns of the previous year with that of this year and find out about the changes. However, if you are obtaining a mail from IRS about back taxes then you can further investigate it by checking with the IRS.

File an extension

You can file an extension to complete your tax return by submission of Form 4868 to the IRS. You can check out for any deductions you might have missed or any miscalculations which you might have made while filing your tax returns. It is advisable to take assistance from an experienced tax professional to find out any deduction or credit which you might have missed. You should try and submit your Form 4868 by the deadline based on whatever you think you owe. You must try to pay as much as you can otherwise you might accrue penalties and interest.

Options for payment

Your payment to the IRS can be done by the below-mentioned methods.

The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System – This system is being operated by the Treasury Department to process the federal tax payments. You must set up your account by using your bank account information and then make your payments. Payments can be made related to different tax obligations such as estimated tax, extension payments, tax balances for previous years, etc.

IRS Direct Pay – You can pay your tax bills directly from either a savings account or a checking account by using Direct Pay. By Direct Pay, taxpayers would be able to schedule tax payments up to 30 days in advance. Payment can be canceled or changed before two business days of the scheduled date.

Credit cards or Debit cards – You can make your tax payments by using credit or debit cards, phone, or by any mobile devices. These payments would be processed by a processor and convenience fees would be charged by the processor. You can download the official mobile app of the IRS i.e. IRS2Go and make your payments conveniently.

US Postal Services – This is the conventional means of making tax payments. You can send your money to the IRS in an old-fashioned manner by mailing the payment check.

Minimizing penalties and interest

Huge tax bills can be troublesome and if you have penalties/interest on top of the original amount, then it would add to your hardships. So, you can minimize these penalties and interest can be minimized in the below-mentioned ways:-

Exceptions to the underpayment of tax penalties – In case you have underpaid your tax this year but you owed substantially less tax the previous year, then you would not be paying penalty for the underpayment.

Abatement of penalties – You can write a letter to the IRS and explain your situation. This can lead the IRS to reduce your penalties or interest.

Pay quickly – If you owe to pay tax to the IRS, then you should not wait until the deadline to file your tax returns. You can send an estimated tax payment or file your tax returns early and pay as much as you can.

What can I do if I can’t pay my taxes?

In case, you are not able to pay your federal tax immediately, there are certain options provided by the IRS which you can use to make your tax payments systematically.

Installment Agreement – You can file Form 9465 which is known as the “Installment Agreement Request” to set up installment payments with the IRS. The installment agreement form can be completed online by using the Online Payment Agreement Tool.

If you owe $50,000 or less in the form of combined tax, penalties, and interest and have filed all required returns, you can apply for the Monthly installment agreement online.
Businesses can also apply for this online if they owe $25,000 or less in combined tax, penalties, and interest for the current year or the liabilities of the last year and have filed all required returns.

Offer in Compromise – This method should be used as an extreme last resort. IRS would negotiate back taxes by Offer in Compromise and your tax bills can be settled in less than what you owe.

Conclusion

Hence, these are some basic tips and steps which you must follow if you owe taxes to the IRS for easier and faster resolution of your tax-related issues.

References

All you need to know about a delay in IRS Refunds in 2020

by Mounica Kota | Aug 3, 2020 | IRS, IRS Tax Refunds, Tax Return Delay

All you need to know about a delay in IRS Refunds in 2020

The US Treasury Department and the IRS had delayed the deadline for a federal tax return by three months to reduce the economic stress on the Americans caused due to the pandemic COVID-19. Due to the widespread impact of the novel coronavirus, the Federal Government has been urging the Americans to maintain social distancing. Due to the social distancing norms, the IRS had to close its offices around the country and operate with limited staff. Moreover, for around 2-3 months the IRS has been only performing the “Mission-Critical” functions which mainly included delivering Stimulus Checks to the Americans.

Many IRS officers have returned to offices last month to perform those tasks which cannot be performed from home. These tasks mainly include processing the federal income tax returns of the taxpayers and there is a huge backlog of work to be completed by the IRS officials.

How long does it take for the IRS to process tax refunds?

Generally, the IRS would issue a tax refund to the taxpayers within 21 days of accepting the tax return request.
If your return request has been filed electronically it would take the IRS maximum of 3 days to accept the request whereas if it is filed by the paper medium it would take additional 3 weeks to accept the request.
Due to the pandemic COVID-19, return requests filed by paper have not been processed and there has been a huge backlog. If you have mailed your tax returns by 15th July 2020 then you must be prepared for the huge delay.

Major reasons for tax refund delay in 2020

Let us have a look at some of the major reasons for the delay in a tax refund for the year 2020.

Filing early or late – If you have filed your returns earlier, you would wait eagerly to receive your returns. However, the early filers might even have to wait for long. The IRS is still making certain changes into its processes and has a lot of backlog work to finish up due to the pandemic. The changes in processes can include updated security measures or any other process tweaks.

Claiming certain credits – Your tax returns might be delayed if you filed them early but have claimed certain credits like Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit. You can keep checking the status of your return on the “Where’s my refund tool” of the IRS.

Filing done by paper returns – This is one of the most common causes for your tax refunds being delayed. Tax returns filed by paper means would take a longer time for being processed and also for the issue of the refund too. Sending of checks through mail also opens up the possibilities of your check being lost or being sent to a wrong address. So, this would delay the entire refund process.

Outstanding debts – The IRS can also garnish your refunds if you had defaulted on a federal student loan, if you owe money for back taxes, if you owe money for child support or if you filed a joint return and your spouse has outstanding debts. By garnishment, the IRS can withhold money from you to put it towards some other task.

Security measures – The IRS maintains strict security measures to combat identity theft. There are some security measures due to which the IRS can increase its processing time. There might be a scenario where the IRS suspects that there has been a tax return filed for you by stealing your identity. This can delay your return and you might obtain it after the investigation has been completed by the IRS. Sometimes, the IRS may also feel that the bank account mentioned in the return is suspicious and does not belong to you; in this case, the IRS would send it to you as a paper check.

Incorrect bank information – Your account number and bank details should be correct while filing your tax returns. If you have entered the wrong information and the refund has not been sent by the IRS, you can call on the toll-free number and request to stop the processing. If the refund has already been sent by the IRS, then you can contact the financial institution to send the payment back to the IRS and the IRS would issue you the refund as a paper check. However, if the financial institution does not agree to send the refund back to the IRS you would have to file Form 3911.

Mistakes on your return – In case, there are any mistakes in your return such as any mathematical errors or incorrect personal information then the IRS would take a long time in processing them. This would slow down the process of a potential refund. The IRS would contact you for any mistakes in your return and in some cases, it might amend your minor errors as well.

Conclusion

So, if you have not received your tax refunds yet you can call the IRS or check the status of your refund on “Where’s my refund?” in the www.irs.gov/refunds webpage.

References

Unclaimed refund lying with IRS. Here is how to get your unclaimed refund?

by Mounica Kota | Jul 28, 2020 | IRS, refund due, Taxpayers

Unclaimed refund lying with IRS. Here is how to get your unclaimed refund?

Since 2016, there is more than $1.5 billion as outstanding refunds with the IRS which remains unclaimed. This implies there might have been more than around one million taxpayers who may be qualifying to obtain tax refunds but did not file their income tax return.

In case, you are due for a tax refund you must file a federal income tax return to obtain your money.

A three-year window

According to the IRS, you have a window of three years within which you can file your tax return and would be able to claim any tax refund which is due. This window of three years begins on the original date when your return was due or the extended due date in case if you had filed for an extension. For the current year, this due date is 15th July 2020 or it is 15th October 2020 if an extension was filed by you.

In case, you miss out on this three-year window you would not be able to get back the money. The money will then belong to the US Treasury and you would have no right to claim the money anymore.

Why you might be having a refund due?

If in 2016, you were filing your federal tax return as a single taxpayer who was below the age of 65 years and had an income less than $6300 then you didn’t need to file the tax returns. You can consider that income tax has been deducted by your employer throughout the year and the IRS owes to return you that. Since you were not needed to file the federal tax return you had not filed which would have been of great interest to you.
Your income level in 2016 might be eligible to obtain a tax credit which can only be availed by filing a tax return. Due to your low or moderate-income level for the year 2016, it would be feasible that you might be eligible to obtain the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit).

Below-mentioned are the income thresholds for 2016 and if your income for 2016 was below these limits, you would be eligible to obtain ETIC and can be done by filing tax returns by the 15th of July 2020.

For single individuals and having three or more qualifying children-$47955 whereas it is $53,505 for a married couple and filing the tax return jointly.
For single individuals who are having two or more qualifying children-$44648 whereas it is $50,198 for a married couple and filing the tax return jointly.
For single individuals who are having one or more qualifying children-$39,296 whereas it is $44,846 for a married couple who are filing the tax return jointly.
For single individuals having no qualifying children-$14,880 whereas it is $20,430 for a married couple who are filing the tax return jointly.

There are some other tax credits as well which you might be qualifying to claim for 2016 such as Adoption credit, Additional child tax credit, health coverage tax credit, American opportunity credit, etc.
You would be able to obtain tax credits and other tax breaks only when you file your federal income tax return. No penalty is charged for failing to file the tax return when you already have a penalty due.

How will you get back your refund?

To get back your refund, you will need the forms W-2, 1098, 1099 or Form 5498 from the year 2016. In case, you do not have these old forms you can place requests for copies of these forms with your employer, bank, or other payers. You can also the IRS tool i.e. Get Transcript Online tool on the website of the IRS where you would be able to obtain your free wage and income transcript. You might need a copy of the Form 1040, Form 1040A or Form 1040EZ from the year 2016. You can easily obtain these forms and necessary instructions on the IRS.gov Forms and Publications page.

If you have money to be paid back for student loans, any back taxes, or child support then the refund amount would be offset for the tax amount you owe to pay. Moreover, if you have not filed your tax returns for the year 2017 or 2018 then it is quite probable that the IRS would hold back your tax refund.

Conclusion

Hence, this is your chance to claim your refunds back and you should not miss this opportunity failing which the money would belong to the IRS forever.