When Should I File My Taxes

The Requirements For Filing A Joint Tax Return When One Spouse Is A Nonresident Alien

When a US person marries a nonresident alien, he or she will face a few tax consequences. A married couples tax implications will differ depending on whether the couple files a joint tax return or separately. Joint income must be reported by both spouses on a joint return. In general, when a US person files a joint U.S. tax return with a nonresident alien, both spouses foreign assets and accounts are also included. Even if a non-resident alien makes an election to be treated as a resident for income tax purposes on their tax return, this does not always mean they will have to file an FBAR.

Consider Your Gross Income Thresholds

Most taxpayers are eligible to take the standard deduction. The standard tax deduction amounts that you’re eligible for are primarily determined by your age and filing status. These amounts are set by the government before the tax filing season and generally increase for inflation each year.

The standard deduction, along with other available deductions, reduces your income to determine how much of your income is taxable. As long as you don’t have a type of income that requires you to file a return for other reasons, like self-employment income, generally you don’t need to file a return as long as your income is less than your standard deduction.

For example, in 2021, you don’t need to file a tax return if all of the following are true for you:

• Don’t have any special circumstances that require you to file
• Earn less than $12,550

Reasons People Who Dont Usually File Should File A 2021 Tax Return

Even if youre not required to file a tax return, there are many reasons why you should still file your 2021 tax return.

For starters, if you had taxes withheld from your paycheck or paid estimated taxes, you may want to file to obtain a refund. Also, if youre eligible for certain refundable tax credits, you could qualify for thousands of dollars, even if you had very little to no income.

A refundable tax credit can trigger a tax refund, even if you dont owe any taxes. For example, lets say you owe taxes of $500 and you qualify for a refundable tax credit of $2,000, you would receive a refund of $1,500.

Here are three refundable tax credits you can use to get money into your pocket even if youre not required to file.

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Why Should I Get An Itin

Some of the benefits to getting an ITIN include:

1. Filing taxes.

This can serve as proof of good moral character in immigration cases. Filing taxes can be helpful in your immigration case if you are able to adjust your status in the future.

2. Opening a personal bank account.

In somecases, an ITIN can be used as a substitute for an SSN to open a personal checking or savings account. A bank account is a safe place to store your money and allows you to establish a financial history.

3. Building credit.

Some credit cards require you to have an established bank account to apply. By developing a good credit history, you may be able to do things like buy a house,purchase a car, or borrow money to start a business in the future.

4. Claiming tax credits.

Filing taxes also means that you can claim tax credits that you are eligible for. These credits can reduce the amount of taxes you owe or can provide you a tax refund that can be put towards things like the cost of raising kids or to cover daily living expenses. Learn more about specific tax credits available if you have an ITIN.

5. Purchasing health insurance.

When you purchase health insurance for your US-born children through the Health Insurance Marketplace, you may be eligible for the Premium Tax Credit , which can help lower how much you spend on insurance. To get the PTC, parents with ITINs are required to file their taxes.

6. Securing identification.

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The Best Time To File Your Tax Return

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Many things in life come down to timing, and tax returns are no exception. Wait too long, and you could miss the filing deadline, setting you up for interest charges or even penalties. Its always a good idea to file by the tax deadline, but you might be able to save money, beat crime or realize other advantages if you file during other parts of tax season. It all depends on your objective.

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When Should I File My Taxes

After receiving all your tax documents, you can file your federal tax return anytime up to the filing deadline that year. In 2022, the tax deadline is April 18. Keep in mind the government will sometimes move the tax filing deadline in extenuating circumstances, such as the tax extension given in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When you file your taxes can vary based on your goals in that tax year. Here are some common scenarios and the date you should file your taxes to make the most of them.

What If I Can’t Pay My Tax Bill

If you can’t afford to pay your tax bill in full on the deadline, don’t pull out your credit card or ignore the situation.

The IRS offers reasonable payment plans at much lower interest rates than most banks. You may even be able to settle the bill for less than you owe, called an offer in compromise, or request a deferment until you can make a payment. Offers in compromise and requests for deferment require additional paperwork and must be approved by the IRS.

The IRS is predicting significant delays in this year’s tax season, both because of unfinished past paperwork that has rolled into this year and because of the complexity of tax filing around last year’s child tax credits and economic impact payments. Taxpayers can expect longer wait times than usual for paper returns and to reach the IRS on the phone.

However, online filing remains the most efficient process, and is recommended by the IRS, which says 90% of people who e-file their tax return should get their federal refund within 21 days. In general, the IRS assures filers that the quickest and safest method for getting a federal refund is filing electronically and opting for direct deposit.

If your tax return was flagged by the IRS for errors, manual processing, or fraud detection, your refund could take longer.

Never return a phone call from someone claiming to be with the IRS. Instead, individuals should call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040, and businesses should call 1-800-829-4933.

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You Want To Just Avoid A Late Fee

If you just want to avoid the fee for filing your taxes late, simply plan to file by the deadline. In 2022, this is April 18.

If you file after the due date, you’ll incur a 5% failure-to-file fee for every month that passes. The maximum failure-to-file penalty you can incur is 25%. Once your taxes are 60 days late, you’ll get hit with a fee equal to 100% of your unpaid taxes or $210, whichever is lower.

On top of the failure-to-file fee, you’ll also get hit with a 0.5% failure-to-pay penalty for every month or partial month your taxes go unpaid. This penalty maxes out at 25%.

Benefits Of Filing A Tax Return

Get money back. In some cases, you may get money back when you file your tax return. For example, if your employer withheld taxes from your paycheck, you may be owed a refund when you file your taxes.

Avoid interest and penalties. You may avoid interest and penalties by filing an accurate tax return on time and paying any tax you owe in the right way before the deadline. Even if you can’t pay, you should file on time or request an extension to avoid owing more money.

Protect your credit. You may avoid having a lien placed against you when you file an accurate tax return on time and pay any tax you owe in the right way before the deadline. Liens can damage your credit score and make it harder for you to get a loan.

Apply for financial aid. An accurate tax return can make it easier to apply for help with education expenses.

Build your Social Security benefit. Claiming your self-employment income on your return ensures that it will be included in your benefit calculation.

Get an accurate picture of your income. When you apply for a loan, lenders will look at your tax return to figure your interest rate and decide if you can repay. If you file accurate tax returns, you may get a loan with a lower interest rate and better repayment terms.

Get peace of mind. When you file an accurate tax return and pay your taxes on time, you’ll know that you’re doing the right thing to follow the law.

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You Want Your Refund Quickly

If you want your , file your income taxes as soon as you receive all your tax documents. You can put some serious hustle on it by filing online. If you mail your return to the IRS, it can take six to eight weeks for the IRS to process your return. However, with e-file, the IRS should issue your return in three weeks.

You can speed it up even further by opting for direct deposit instead of a paper check, which saves you the mailing time, making it the fastest way to get your money.

Objective: Do It As Cheaply As Possible

BEST TIME TO FILE: TYPICALLY, BEFORE MARCH 15

The market for tax software is competitive, and providers often change their prices throughout the year. In normal tax-filing years, prices tend to go up during the 30 days before the typical April deadline, and not just for federal returns. Fees to file state returns may rise as well when demand peaks.

• If youre going to hire a human tax preparer, get on that persons calendar early, or it could cost you more as well.

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Youre Requesting Injured Spouse Relief

Youre considered an injured spouse if you were supposed to receive a tax refund but didnt because it was garnished to pay for your spouses debt.

However, you may qualify for injured spouse relief, which is getting your tax refund back, only if you file jointly with your spouse and youre not legally obligated for any of that debt yourself.

You can use Form 8379 to request injured spouse relief. If you want to request it and you havent filed your joint tax return yet, you can file them at the same time via e-file. If you want to submit it but youve already filed your joint tax return, thats when you must print out Form 8379 and mail it to the IRS.

Check If You Need To File An Income Tax Return

You must file an Income Tax Return if you have received a letter, form or an SMS from IRAS informing you to do so, regardless of how much you earned in the previous year or whether your employer is participating in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income.

To file your Income Tax Return, please log into myTax Portal using your Singpass.

Find out if you need to file an Income Tax Return:

Non-resident individuals

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Should I File My Business And Personal Taxes Together

Whether you need to file your business and personal taxes together or separately depends on your business structure.

You can report all your business income and expenses on a Schedule C attachment to your personal income tax return if:

• Youre a small business owner using a sole proprietorship
• Youre the sole owner of a limited liability company

You must always prepare a separate corporate tax return if:

• Your business is a corporation
• Your business is an S corporation
• Your business is a partnership or you elect to treat your LLC as a partnership

When you use TurboTax Home & Business or TurboTax Business , you’ll answer simple questions about your business income and expenses, and well fill in all the right forms for you.

Continue reading for a breakdown of each structure to better understand where your business fits in.

What Is An Ip Pin And Do You Need One

Identity theft has become a serious problem and fraudsters have used stolen identities to file false tax returns and claim refunds before the rightful filers can do so. Even childrens Social Security numbers are being targeted.

The Internal Revenue Service created an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number Opt-In Program to protect taxpayers whose identities had been stolen. Although the program was initially for victims of identity theft, it is being expanded in phases to all taxpayers. The IP PIN is a six-digit number assigned to eligible taxpayers to help prevent the misuse of their Social Security number on fraudulent federal income tax returns. An IP PIN is used only on Forms 1040, 1040PR and 1040SS.

There are a number of reasons for signing up for an IP PIN, but also some drawbacks. Data breaches have become prevalent and most of us have our personal information stored somewhere online, which means we risk having that information leaked or stolen. The IP PIN offers a greater level of security when it comes to protecting people from tax-related crimes. The IP PIN is an important tool as it will thwart tax-related identity theft, preventing many of the problems that come with identity theft. If your identity is stolen, the IRS flags your account for the next three years, resulting in slower processing of your tax return and a delayed refund if one is due.

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Failure To Pay Penalty

A failure to pay penalty applies if you dont pay the tax you report on a tax return by the due date or an approved extended due date. The penalty is calculated as a percentage of the taxes you didnt pay: 0.5% of your unpaid taxes for each month the balance goes unpaid.

The maximum penalty the IRS can charge is 25% of your unpaid taxes. The IRS charges interest on the penalty here, too.

If you have to pay both a failure to file penalty and a failure to pay penalty in the same month, the IRS reduces the amount you owe. The combined penalty comes out to 5% for each month or part of a month your return was late.

For example, instead of hitting you with a 5% failure to file penalty for a month, the IRS will charge a 4.5% failure to file penalty and a 0.5% failure to pay penalty, for a total of 5% of your unpaid taxes.

Tax Software And Professional Tax Preparation At A Glance

Some taxpayers with complicated income situations are highly capable of doing their own taxes, while other taxpayers with simple finances still prefer to hire an accountant. While theres no right or wrong answer, there are considerations that can help you decide which option is best for you. Consider the following situations when deciding between tax software or an accountant:

Tax Software vs. Accountant

• Multiple income streams

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Put It On Your Calendar

Set reminders for yourself so that you get notifications about important tax dates. There are a variety of apps you can use like Any.Do and Google Keep to set up reminders. Some helpful dates to keep track of are the first day you can file, the final filing date and the date your tax documents will be available.

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• Estimate your tax refund andwhere you stand

• Know how much to withhold from your paycheck to get

• Estimate your self-employment tax and eliminate

• Estimate capital gains, losses, and taxes for cryptocurrency sales

The above article is intended to provide generalized financial information designed to educate a broad segment of the public it does not give personalized tax, investment, legal, or other business and professional advice. Before taking any action, you should always seek the assistance of a professional who knows your particular situation for advice on taxes, your investments, the law, or any other business and professional matters that affect you and/or your business.

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Learn Which Credits And Deductions You Can Take

Getting a sense of which can help you pull together the proper documentation. Here are a few to consider:

• Savers credit. If you are not a full-time student and are not being claimed as a dependent, you may be eligible for a tax credit if you contribute to a retirement plan. The amount of the credit depends on your filing status and adjusted gross income. For the 2022 tax year, if your filing status is single, you may be eligible if your adjusted gross income is $34,000 or less. If you are married and are filing jointly, you may be eligible if your adjusted gross income is $68,000 or less. However, these numbers are subject to change in future tax years.
• Student loan interest. You can deduct up to $2,500 in interest payments, depending on your modified adjusted gross income.
• Charitable deductions. Donating to your alma mater or a favorite charity? Generally, you can deduct qualified charitable donations if you itemize your taxes.
• Freelance expenses. If you are self-employed, you may be able to claim deductions for work-related expenses such as industry subscriptions and office supplies.

If you think you may qualify for additional credits or deductions, check the IRS website.