If you really feel like you need an accountant to handle your taxes but it’s too late to hire anyone, you can file for an extension.
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Karen Edgar, a registered tax preparer with the Sacramento firm of Edgar & Associates LLP, said Friday that the rare deadline extension undoubtedly comes as a relief to both taxpayers and professional return preparers.
The date applies to federal and state income tax returns.
You can thank the Emancipation Day holiday in the District of Columbia for the extra time. The IRS is closed on Emancipation Day therefore they’re moving the deadline to Monday, April 18th. Signed by President Abraham Lincoln on April 16, 1862, the act freed 3,000 slaves in the District of Columbia. Emancipation Day, April 16, was officially declared a public holiday in Washington in 2005.
The Internal Revenue Service today offered last-minute advice today as more than 10 million taxpayers prepare to file tax returns in the next few days and millions more seek six-month extensions.
According to healthcare.gov, those who got financial help to lower the costs of monthly premiums will need to report how much aid they were afforded, even if they normally don’t have to file.
But as long as the system stays the same, taxpayers will spend an average of 13 hours and $200 to file their returns – 4 of which is actually filling out the forms. It’s a wise move, as the IRS estimates that close to 95 percent of taxpayers filed electronically past year.
From free shredding – spring cleaning, anyone? – to free and discounted food, we’ve compiled a list of some of the top deals to make the stress of tax season a little more tolerable.
There are times when a person need not file tax returns. “We had estimated that Tennessee, would file 2.6 million e-file tax returns for the whole calendar year”.
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“You have paid for braces for your children and they are your dependent”, Tabatabai said. By filing either a regular return or requesting an extension by the April 18 filing deadline (April 19 for residents of ME and Massachusetts), they will avoid the late-filing penalty, which can be ten times as costly as the penalty for not paying. Even if you can’t afford to pay all that you owe, you can help limit the penalties and interest by filing the returns and working with the IRS to schedule payments. An error may delay your refund and could cause the IRS to send you a letter.
