Tax Break: The TurboTax Blog » tax return

When Do I Amend My Tax Return?

Elle Martinez — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:35:56 +0000

For the last couple of years we’ve waited until about March to file our taxes even though we start the process as soon as we start receiving documents like our W-2s and 1099s. It’s not because we usually owe for the previous year, it’s because we want to make sure we collect all the necessary documents before filing it. Many times, this year included, we received a 1099 later than the others, sometimes by two weeks or more. With everything accounted for, we go ahead and file our tax returns.

Amended Tax Return

But what if we were wrong? What if we missed a form? What’s the procedure for that? In that case we may need to amend our tax returns. For anyone who thinks that may have to do that, here is some information to help it be as painless as possible.

How Do I Amend My Tax Returns?

First off, make sure you need to amend your return . If you’ve made minor math errors, the IRS states that the service center will be able to handle that without requiring a 1040x. However if you need to change your filing status, credits, tax deductions, or income, then you do need to amend your tax return.

You’ll need to fill out a 1040x Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, print and sign it, and then mail it in since you can not e-file it. It takes about 8-12 weeks for the IRS to process it after they have received the amended tax return.

If you’re amending a tax return and are expecting a bigger tax refund, the IRS advises that you wait for the original tax refund check to come in before sending in your 1040x (you may cash the check you received). If you need help with amending your tax returns, TurboTax can guide your through the process.

But wait, don’t hit the amend button so fast! There is another situation where you do not have to file an amendment. Did you already e-file your tax return and just receive a K-1 or 1099? If you did, but your tax return was rejected by the IRS you may not be happy about the IRS rejection, but you should be happy to know, you don’t need to amend your tax return. All you need to do is fix your tax return and resend it. And if you used TurboTax, there’s more good news. TurboTax will guide you through fixing your tax return.

Thoughts on Amending Tax Returns

I’d love to hear about you and how you did with taxes. How many of you had to amend a tax return? How did the process go for you?

How Can You Get a Copy of Your Tax Return? What is the Difference Between a Tax Return Transcript and a Copy of Your Transcript?

Michael Rubin — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:51:00 +0000

You’ve probably heard you should save your tax returns and supporting records for at least three (preferably seven) years after the filing deadline. Of course, you’re also supposed to eat more bran, drink less soda, and drive your car slower. Sometimes good intentions don’t quite play out.

Say you suddenly find yourself in need of one of your old tax returns. Such a circumstance might come about when applying for a loan, be it a home mortgage, refinancing, or for college funding. If you’re unable to find your tax return among the piles of old photo albums and dated baseball cards in your closet, the IRS can help. Here’s how:

Request Your Tax Return

Surprising as this might be, to receive a copy of an old tax return from the IRS, you must fill out a form. In this case, the paperwork is Form 4506, aptly named “Request for a Tax Return.” While the form is straightforward, it is not without cost—each tax return you would like to receive will set you back $57. (Why $57 and not $50 or $60 remains an uninvestigated mystery). You can request any tax return up to six years old. (No, you can’t request someone else’s tax return.)

Once your check clears, expect your return(s) to arrive in about 2 months. Note that if you are impacted by a federal disaster area, you probably won’t have to pay any fees.

Only Need the Highlights? Get a Transcript

Sometimes, the requesting your entire return is unnecessary. Given the cost, first check to see if a tax return transcript will satisfy your needs. If so, request a transcript, available at no cost. To get your tax return transcript, simply dial 800-908-9946 or visit http://www.irs.gov. Then, click Online Services and choose “Order a Transcript.”

A transcript provides all the most important line items for your return and is often sufficient for your lender’s documentation requirements. Unlike a full tax return, transcripts are available for the previous three years only.

To request your transcript, complete 4506-EZ, the short form for requesting an Individual Tax Return Transcript. This relatively new form is streamlined, especially for those who are going through a mortgage application, refinancing, or modification. As such, you can request your transcript be mailed directly to a third party such as your lender.

You can get all forms at the IRS web site (www.irs.gov) or by calling 800-829-3676.

How to Track Tax Deductions

TurboTaxBlogTeam — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:00:56 +0000

Filling out your tax return with a pencil and paper has always been a chore, especially when trying to keep track of multiple tax deductions. In the old days, you had to slog through boxes full of receipts and enter their values into a calculator. Those days, thankfully, are no more. New web-based computing technology has finally made it easy to keep track of all your charitable donations, mortgage interest payments and retirement account contributions, to name just a few.

Step 1: Create a free TurboTax account

Go to TurboTax.com and scroll down to the bottom of the page to choose the type of tax return you would like to prepare. Click the “Create an Account” button and input the required information. There is no charge to create an account and you can even start preparing your return without providing information by clicking on “Try It Free.”

Step 2: Sign in to your new account

When you login to TurboTax, you will see a screen with a series of tabs across the top. Click on the first tab to input some of the personal information the IRS requires you to report on your tax return. The software will generate a tax return with all of your information such as name, address and Social Security number in the appropriate boxes on your tax form. Click “Continue” and check off all the life events that have occurred for you this year.

Step 3: Input deductions

Click through to the “Federal Taxes” tab. This is the tab that allows you to input every single deduction you anticipate claiming on your return this year and saves your information so you can track all deductions as you go. To get started, click on “Deductions & Credits” at the top. TurboTax will guide you through this section and ask you questions about your expenses to insure that you don’t miss any tax-saving deductions. For example, the program asks whether you own a home and for the amount of loan payments you made during the year to calculate the mortgage interest deduction. As you work through this section, the software will ask questions about every possible deduction you may qualify for such as donations to charity, certain car expenses, education expenses, medical expenses, and so forth. When you are finished, click “Done with Deductions.” Since you can save all information, you can update, delete and add any other deductions before you finalize your return and send it to the IRS.

Step 4: Compare your itemized deductions to your standard deduction

When you have no more deductions to add, you will have a choice to claim the standard deduction or the total of all your itemized deductions that TurboTax already had you input. Generally, you will save more in taxes if you choose the larger of the two. If the standard deduction is larger, then you will not be able to deduct many of the expenses you reported on the software.

The Talking Tax: Cell Phone Tax Rates By State

joshritchie — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 18:29:56 +0000

With state and federal taxes, Americans are now being taxed an average of 16.26% for the use of their phones. Depending on the state that number can shoot as high as 23.69%. Each month, the talking tax is silently imposed on America’s wireless customers, and unless legislative action is taken the rates could rise even higher.

Infographic by Column Five Media

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In-tax-icated: Taxing America's Most Spirited Beverage

joshritchie — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 23:28:22 +0000

What better time of year to release the most recent tax rates on beer, wine, and liquor than St. Patrick’s Day? Let’s take a look at which states pay the lowest and highest rates for their most spirited beverages–and investigate how this Irish holiday turns America into an alcohol-consuming machine.

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Do I Even Have to File Taxes?

TurboTaxBlogTeam — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:25:40 +0000

Every year around this time, millions of Americans wonder if it’s even necessary for them to file a tax return. It probably doesn’t come as a shock to you, since anyone who has ever looked at a Form 1040 has probably wondered where the emergency exit doors are!

The easiest way to find out if you need to file a return is by using an IRS tool conveniently called “Do I need to file a tax return?” It’s a 12 minute survey that mirrors what you’d be asked if you called the IRS directly to ask. Be prepared to know your citizenship status, filing status, income earned outside the United States, federal income tax withheld, and anything else you need to know to calculate your gross income.

There are some cases where you might want to file a tax return even if you aren’t required to file a return. If you qualified for the Making Work Pay Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, American Opportunity Credit, First-Time Homebuyer Credit, or the Health Coverage Tax Credit then you’ll want to file a return in order to get the value of your credit back as a tax refund. Also, if you had federal income tax withheld on your paycheck, you may be due a refund and you’ll need to file a return to know for sure.

My recommendation is that everyone should take the time to prepare a tax return, which is simple when you use tax preparation software, and let the refund decide for you. If you aren’t required to file a return, simply fill out the forms (it shouldn’t take too long), and see if you’re due for a refund. If the answer is yes, file! If not, then skip it this year.

How Are Your Money Resolutions Doing?

Jeremy Vohwinkle — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 19:18:03 +0000

Just like that, January has come and gone. Poof! It was only a few short weeks ago you probably sat down and made a few financial resolutions. Save more. Spend less. Pay off debt. Whatever your resolution, how are things going after the first month? Are you on track or have you already bailed on them just like your diet resolution?

If things aren’t going as planned, no worries. Remember that improving your finances is a marathon and not a sprint. It’s a long road and there’s plenty of time to get back on track. So, here are four things you can start working on today to get back to where you need to be.

Put your tax refund to use. With the tax deadline looming you’re probably already in the beginning stages of getting your tax return completed. And if you’re like many Americans, you’re expecting a refund. So put that refund to use. Don’t go out and blow it on a new HDTV or a vacation you otherwise couldn’t afford. Not that you don’t deserve those things, but if you have lingering debt or no savings set aside for an emergency, that’s where you need to put the money. It won’t be as exciting as splurging, but it will pay huge dividends down the road. Filed but looking to track that refund? Find out where your refund is here.

Take advantage of the 2011 payroll tax holiday. If you haven’t already noticed, you’re getting a payroll tax break this year. For this tax year thanks to the new tax bill you’ll be paying 2 percent less in taxes with each paycheck. This could mean an extra few thousand dollars in your pocket over the course of the year. But instead of just letting it hit your bank account and getting spent with the rest of the money, consider putting that 2 percent towards debt, into a savings account, or into an IRA. Consider this: if you put that money into a Traditional IRA or 401(k) you’ll also get a tax deduction on top of everything else! Talk about really putting your money to work.

Automate your bills. Life is stressful enough without having to worry about paying bills, so why worry at all? Nearly all major bills can be paid automatically, either through a bill pay system with your bank or through the company itself. Don’t waste time each month manually paying bills online or writing checks. Put it on autopilot and you’ll not only free up more time, but never have another late fee again.

Re-balance your portfolio. In case you missed it, the last two years have been two of the best years ever for the stock market. Sure, it came on the heels of two of the worst years, but it goes to show you that the past doesn’t necessarily predict the future. And when you have wild swings like we’ve seen it can really mix things up in your investment portfolio. You may now be too concentrated in stocks, or maybe you changed your investment strategy when the market was down and have been missing out on recent gains, etc. Either way, it’s time to take a look at your investments and re-balance if necessary. As I recently pointed out, during the lost decade of investing, by simply maintaining a diversified portfolio and re-balancing regularly, you turn ten years of no gain in the market into a respectable gain in your portfolio.

The little things really do start to add up. Whether it’s being able to save an extra $25 a month, paying off a high-interest balance on a credit card, or just tweaking your investment holdings, you can make a big difference in your financial future.

The State of Mobile Commerce

joshritchie — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:38:28 +0000

Since 2006, m-commerce has been booming. With a greater number of retailers going mobile, more and more Americans may be turning to their smart phones for all of their retail needs. And, with independent developers and retail conglomerates alike developing mobile apps at an ever-increasing pace, mobile shopping as an industry as only reached the tip of the iceberg. These days, consumers can do more and more tasks on their mobile phones normally reserved for traditional computing. Taxpayers with straightforward returns can even file their taxes on an iPhone or Android phone now.

Infographic by Column Five Media

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Who Will Reign Supreme This Sunday?

joshritchie — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:21:30 +0000

With the big game less than a week away, there’s been a lot of talk about which really is the better team. While it’s difficult to say with any level of certainty that the Steelers or the Packers are in fact the superior squad, there are some things we can all agree on: cold, hard facts. The graphic below illustrates some of the more interesting football- and non-football-related facts and figures about the Badger State and the Keystone State. And while, the answer to the question, ‘who will reign supreme this Sunday?’ may not be answerable as a result of this information, it certainly provides some food for thought, especially when it comes to your tax return. Definitely feel free to comment on which team/state you think is superior, and why.

Infographic by Column Five Media.

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