Top 10 Reasons to Visit the IRS Website

Are you a fan of Letterman’s “Top 10s”? Well here are the top 10 reasons to visithttp://www.irs.gov.

  1. If you find yourself working on your tax return over the weekend, there’s no need to wait to get a form or an answer to a question – visit the IRS website anytime. The website is accessible all day, every day.
  2. Use Free File: Let Free File do the hard work for you with brand-name tax software or online fillable forms. It’s exclusively at http://www.irs.gov. Everyone can find an option to prepare their tax return and e-file it for free. If you made $58,000 or less, you qualify for free tax software that is offered through a private-public partnership with manufacturers. If you made more or are comfortable preparing your own tax return, there’s Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic versions of IRS paper forms. Visit http://www.irs.gov/freefile to review your options.
  3. Try IRS e-file: After 21 years, IRS e-file has become the safe, easy and most common way to file a tax return. Last year, 70 percent of taxpayers – 99 million people – used IRS e-file. Starting in 2011, many tax preparers will be required to use e-file and will explain your filing options to you. This is your chance to give it a try. IRS e-file is approaching 1 billion returns processed safely and securely. If you owe taxes, you have payment options to file immediately and pay by the tax deadline. Best of all, combine e-file with direct deposit and you get your refund in as few as 10 days. More information about e-file is available at http://www.irs.gov.
  4. Check the status of your tax refund. Whether you chose direct deposit or asked the IRS to mail you a check, you can check the status of your refund through Where’s My Refund?
  5. Find out how to make payments electronically. You can authorize an electronic funds withdrawal, use a credit or debit card, or enroll in the U.S. Treasury’s Electronic Federal Tax Payment System to pay your federal taxes. Electronic payment options are a convenient, safe and secure way to pay taxes.
  6. Find out if you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. EITC is a tax credit for many people who earned less than $49,000. Find out if you are eligible by answering some questions and providing basic income information using the EITC Assistant.
  7. Get tax forms and publications. You can view and download tax forms and publications any hour of the day or night.
  8. Calculate the right amount of withholding on your W-4. The IRS Withholding Calculator will help you ensure that you don’t have too much or too little income tax withheld from your pay.
  9. Request a payment agreement. Paying your taxes in full and on time avoids unnecessary penalties and interest. However, if you cannot pay your balance in full you may be eligible to use the Online Payment Agreement Application to request an installment agreement.
  10. Get information about the latest tax law changes. Learn about tax law changes that may affect your tax return. Special sections of the website highlight changes that affect individual or business taxpayers.

Remember the address of the official IRS website is http://www.irs.gov. Don’t be confused by Internet sites that end in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov.

Do I have to File a Tax Return?

You must file a federal income tax return if your income is above a certain level; which varies depending on your filing status, age and the type of income you receive. In addition, there are some instances when you may want to file a tax return even though you are not required to do so. Even if you don’t have to file, here are seven reasons why you may want to:

  1. Federal Income Tax Withheld
    You should file to get money back if Federal Income Tax was withheld from your pay, you made estimated tax payments, or had a prior year overpayment applied to this year’s tax.
  2. Making Work Pay Credit
    You may be able to take this credit if you had earned income from work. The maximum credit for a married couple filing a joint return is $800 and $400 for other taxpayers.
  3. Earned Income Tax Credit
    You may qualify for EITC if you worked, but did not earn a lot of money.EITC is a refundable tax credit; which means you could qualify for a tax refund.
  4. Additional Child Tax Credit
    This refundable credit may be available to you if you have at least one qualifying child and you did not get the full amount of the Child Tax Credit.
  5. American Opportunity Credit
    The maximum credit per student is $2,500 and the first four years of postsecondary education qualify.
  6. First-Time Homebuyer Credit
    The credit is a maximum of $8,000 or $4,000 if your filing status is married filing separately. To qualify for the credit, taxpayers must have bought – or entered into a binding contract to buy – a principal residence located in the United States on or before April 30, 2010. If you entered into a binding contract by April 30, 2010, you must have closed on the home on or before September 30, 2010. If you bought a home as your principle residence in 2010, you may be able to qualify and claim the credit even if you already owned a home. In this case, the maximum credit for long-time residents is $6,500, or $3,250 if your filing status is married filing separately.
  7. Health Coverage Tax Credit
    Certain individuals, who are receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance, Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance, or pension benefit payments from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, may be eligible for a Health Coverage Tax Credit worth 80 percent of monthly health insurance premiums when you file your 2010 tax return.

New Health Care Tax Credit Helps Small Employers

The small business health care tax credit, created under the Affordable Care Act, is designed to encourage small employers to offer health insurance coverage for the first time or maintain coverage they already have.

The credit takes effect this year and is generally available to small employers that pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their employees in 2010. The credit is specifically targeted to help small employers that primarily employ low to moderate-income workers.

For tax years 2010 to 2013, the maximum credit is 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible small business employers. The maximum credit goes to smaller employers – those with 10 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees – paying annual average wages of $25,000 or less. The credit is completely phased out for employers with more than 25 FTEs or with average wages of more than $50,000.

Below are a few shortcuts to help you find additional information from the IRS website.

Tax Benefits for Education

Have you read all the news articles about the increase in college enrollment? Well here’s an article from IRS that’s helpful if you are one of the many parents that are or will soon be paying for your child’s higher education.

The IRS has placed a new Tax Benefits for Education section on IRS.gov includes tips for taking advantage of long-standing education deductions and credits. The “one-stop” location for higher education information includes a special section highlighting 529 plans and frequently asked questions.

Transfer of Real Estate

Here’s a notice that came out from the IRS bulletins:

“The IRS Estate and Gift Tax Program recently started working with state and county authorities in several states to determine if real estate transfers reported to them are unreported gifts. Although a tax may not be due, a gift tax return may be required for real estate transfers above the annual exclusion amount. Penalties will be considered on all delinquent taxable gift returns filed.”

What does this mean to you? If you put someone on the deed to your real property, or if you transfer ownership of your real property (say to your children or grandchildren), you may be required to file a gift tax return.

For information on gift and estate taxes visit the following IRS link:http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98968,00.html

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