4 Mistakes That You Don’t Want to Make When Filing Your Taxes.

(Filing Mistakes Could Land You In Tax Trouble)

It can be a stressful experience preparing your taxes and filing them. It can
be even more stressful however, if you make these mistakes that land you
into tax trouble. It’s important to remember that if you make mistakes that are serious enough, you might end up triggering an audit of your tax return or owe more in back taxes.

It’s early to be talking about tax season, but if you’re planning on filing your
own taxes this year, here are four mistakes that you should avoid.

Don’t neglect to report all your income

Whatever your sources of income may be, whether it’s your regular
paycheck, a side gig, gains that you’ve made on the stock market, or interest that you’ve earned from deposits in the bank, it’s important to remember that you should account for all of it in your tax return. If you don’t, the IRS may come looking for it.

Every time you make at least $600 in income working as an employee of
any description, you get a 1099 form stating what you’ve made. The IRS
gets a copy of the form, as well. This means that it makes no sense to try to
hide your income from the IRS.

When you make any kind of income, you should report it on your tax
return. Technically, you should even record smaller chunks of income, the
kind for which you don’t get 1099 forms.

Don’t just guess at what your deductions are

There are many possible tax deductions that you could take advantage of.
It’s important to remember, however, that you do need to back up every
attempt at a deduction with documentary proof like receipts or logs. If you
attempt a rough estimate at what your deductions should be, you could
trigger suspicion, especially if the sum that you claim is high for your
income level, or if it is a convenient round figure.

Don’t automatically reject the idea of itemizing
Most tax filers choose to take the standard deduction, rather than itemize.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t itemize. It depends on your specific
circumstances. If you have many legitimate deductions to make, say,
because, you pay a great deal of mortgage interest, you might be better off
itemizing, even if it takes more work to do it.

Don’t put off filing
Preparing your taxes is a complex process. If you’re self-employed, or if you
need to itemize, it can only get worse. It’s important to not rush through the
process. Any mistakes that you make may prove costly. Take out the time to
file your taxes well ahead of the tax deadline. If you need extra time, you
can always file for an extension. This way, you can avoid the late filing
penalty, which can add up to a whopping 25% of the original tax amount.

Making a mistake on your tax return is the last thing you want to do.
Mistakes can be complicated to correct and recover from. It’s important to
give yourself enough time.

Whatever you do, don’t skip filing. Many clients come to us with not only
years of unfiled tax returns but owing large sums of money to the IRS.
Many times we can help you obtain a “fresh start’ settlement for up to 85%
off the original amount owed, including penalties and interest, if you
qualify.

If you do run into tax trouble, reach out to our tax resolution firm and we’ll
schedule a free, no-obligation confidential consultation to explain your
options in full to permanently resolve your tax problem. Contact us today!