Tax Season 2016 Has Begun!
Well, today marks the beginning of the 2016 tax filing year for individual taxpayers. Today, the IRS will begin accepting electronically filed tax returns. The tax filing deadline this year is April 18th.
Important things to note:
1. The IRS, under the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act, has been mandated to delay processing returns and refunds from tax returns claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). The IRS will process these returns starting February 15th. Taxpayers' returns filed electronically, indicating to directly deposit the refund, will not receive refunds earlier than February 27th.
2. Healthcare verification is still a required mandate for filing individual tax returns. Most taxpayers that received health insurance for an entire year through their jobs or self-employment insurance plans, will only have to mark a box indicating a full year of health insurance coverage. However, if taxpayers have received health insurance through the exchange under the Affordable Healthcare Act, additional forms must be filed. Please do not ignore the Form 1095-A received by your insurance provider.
3. An extension to file is not an extension to pay. If you are requesting an extension to file your 1040 tax return, this is not an extension to pay an taxes that may be owed. Please consult with a tax professional. we are here to serve you.
As you begin to gather your documents to prepare your tax return yourself, or have your trusted tax professional prepare them, here are a couple of things you can do to help along the process:
1. Review your last year's tax return.
2. Create a file. Perhaps an accordion folder to file your 2016 tax documents will help.
3. Write down major events that happened the past year. Did you have a baby? Did you buy a home? Did you start a business? Perhaps one of your children started school.
4. Contact your professional tax preparer. Sometimes a quick phone call to him or her can help jog your memory.
We are here to help. Happy Tax Season!