The deadline to meet the current filing season on time is upon us and taxpayers may still have questions about filing their business, state and federal taxes in 2022.
The economic impact payments, tax credits and other benefits provided in 2021 have many people wondering how to file a return during the pandemic.
To answer any questions that may arise during this process, you can use the USAGov tax season guide to learn the steps you must follow to successfully file your return before the April 18 deadline.
USAGov has 6 tips for taxpayers:
1. Gather all the required forms
Having all your tax documents is the first step. Have all records on hand including W-2, 1099, receipts, canceled checks, and other income documents. Understand what forms you may need and access them online from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), order them by phone, or get them in your community at places like post offices and libraries.
two. File your return online
The IRS offers useful tools to file your taxes online. You can also receive your refund faster by signing up for direct deposit. Access the IRS Free File tool to see if you can start your tax return electronically, if you meet certain income requirements, you may qualify for free tax return preparation.
3. Report the benefits you have received
People who received unemployment benefits due to the pandemic must include them on their federal tax return. As far as stimulus checks are concerned, they are not taxable and do not need to be included in your gross income.
4. Claim the credits you are eligible for
If you did not receive an Economic Impact Payment that you should have received, you may be eligible to claim a recovery refund credit on your return 2021.
Eligible families were able to receive advance payments of the Child Tax Credit under the American Rescue Plan from 2021. If you received those advance payments, you should compare the total you received to the amount you are eligible to claim. If you did not receive any advance payment, you can claim the full amount of the Child Tax Credit from 2021.
People with Low to moderate income with qualifying children may be eligible to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) if certain rules apply. Even if you don’t owe any tax or aren’t required to file a return, you still must file a return to be eligible for the EITC.
5. Get to know the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights
When you file your return, take into account the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, since you have the right to protect your privacy, confidentiality and never pay more than the correct amount of taxes.
6. Use the resources available if you need more help with your taxes
Find answers on how to navigate recent tax law changes, when you can get your refund, and more with these helpful Resources:
– Consult the Taxpayer Ombudsman Service to understand the tax system.
– Sign up for tax tips from IRS experts. You can also explore IRS.gov for multilingual resources, news topics, and how-to guides.
– Use the Interactive Tax Assistant to find specific answers.
– Visit USA.gov to find answers to your top questions during 2022 tax season, from scam prevention to taxes and small business incentives for file for the first time.
You may also be interested in:
– IRS: how to get 6 more months to file your tax return if you are behind
– IRS has $1,500 million dollars in refunds for taxpayers who did not file in 2018