Martin Luther King - Fort Sam Houston - U.S. Army
Martin Luther King - Fort Sam Houston - U.S. Army
Martin Luther King - Fort Sam Houston - U.S. Army
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JANUARY 13, 2011NEWS LEADERPAGE 13TOP 10 TAX TIME TIPSIt’s that time of the year again.The income tax filingseason has begun andimportant tax documentsshould be arriving in themail. Even though taxreturns are not due untilApril, getting an earlystart will make filingeasier. Here are theInternal RevenueService’s top 10 tips thatwill help your tax filingprocess run smootherthan ever this year.Start gathering yourrecords — Round up anydocuments or formsyou’ll need when filingyour taxes: receipts, canceledchecks and otherdocuments that supportincome or deductionsyou’re claiming on yourreturn.Be on the lookout —W-2s and 1099s will becoming soon; you’ll needthese to file your taxreturn.Use Free File — LetFree File do the hardwork for you with brandnametax software oronline fillable forms. It’savailable exclusively athttp://www.irs.gov.Everyone can find anoption to prepare theirtax return and e-file itfor free. If you made$58,000 or less, youqualify for free tax softwarethat is offeredthrough a private-publicpartnership with manufacturers.If you mademore or are comfortablepreparing your own taxreturn,there’sFree File Fillable Forms,the electronic versions ofIRS paper forms. Visitwww.irs.gov/freefile toreview your options.Try IRS e-file —After 21 years, IRS e-filehas become the safe,easy and most commonway to file a tax return.Last year, 70 percent oftaxpayers - 99 millionpeople - used IRS e-file.Starting in 2011, manytax preparers will berequired to use e-file andwill explain your filingoptions to you. This isyour chance to giveit a try. IRS e-file isapproaching1 billionreturnsprocessed safelyand securely. If you owetaxes, you have paymentoptions to file immediatelyand pay by the taxdeadline. Best of all,combine e-file withdirect deposit and youget your refund in as fewas 10 days.Consider other filingoptions — There aremany different optionsfor filing your tax return.You can prepare it yourselfor go to a tax preparer.You may be eligiblefor free face-to-facehelp at an IRS office orvolunteer site. Give yourselftime to weigh all thedifferent options and findthe one that best suitsyour needs.Consider DirectDeposit — If you elect tohave your refund directlydeposited into yourbank account, you’llreceive it faster thanwaiting for a papercheck.Visit the IRS websiteagain and again — Theofficial IRS website is agreat place to find everythingyou’ll need to fileyour tax return: forms,publications, tips,answers to frequentlyasked questions andupdates on tax lawchanges.Remember this number:17 — Check out IRSPublication 17, YourFederal Income Tax onthe IRS website. It’s acomprehensive collectionof information for taxpayershighlightingeverything you’ll need toknow when filing yourreturn.Review! Review!Review! — Don’t rush.We all make mistakeswhen we rush. Mistakeswill slow down the processingof your return.Be sure to double-checkall the Social SecurityNumbers and math calculationson your returnas these are the mostcommon errors made bytaxpayers.Don’t panic! — If yourun into a problem,remember the IRS ishere to help. Tryhttp://www.irs.gov or calltoll-free at 800-829-1040.(Source: IRS.gov)