By coinnews 
00:00 Speaker A
We are coming up on April 15th, known as US tax day. As of late March, the IRS had received 89.6 million returns. That’s actually down eight tenths of a percent from this time last year. So if you’re one of the many Americans who hasn’t yet filed, we’re here to help you out with some last-minute tax tips. So, joining me, we’ve got Tom O’Saben, who is the director of tax content at the National Association of Tax Professionals. Tom, you sent over six great tax tips here, so take us through those.
00:41 Tom O’Saben
Well, when you think about it, it’s interesting, uh, Brad, to see the delays and people filing returns and I think it’s probably a factor, first of all, of late receipt of 1099 documents or K1s or other things that taxpayers need in order to file their returns. I think there’s also some concern out there, is there could be some, are there, is there a possibility there could be some retroactive tax legislation that would somehow affect the 24 filing. Well, there’s not much time for that left. There’s only a few days left here. So, I think what people should do is maybe, you know, ignore a lot of the noise that’s coming out of Washington and try to do things in a straightforward way and as you’re sitting down to do your taxes, first thing, don’t panic. Uh, sit down, take a deep breath and when we talk about there, yeah, some of the things I provided. Some of the errors that cause returns to fail are just making sure that your social security number is correct, like we’re showing there on the screen. If you possibly changed your marital status this last year, did you also change your last name? And if you did, did you change your last name with social security? I’ll tell you right now, what the IRS does is it matches the social security number to the first four letters in that last name. And if they don’t match, then that’s going to cause a reject when the return is electronically filed. So, that would be a number of things, also for the kids, if you’re having any dependents on the return, let’s check those social security numbers too to make sure that they’re correct and they could also have different last names. So, let’s make sure we verify that information as we’re, as we’re getting started. And I can’t stress enough to use software. I’m not here trying to sell software, but certainly there are free services out there, including IRS free file. I’ll tell you as a tax professional, I certainly use software, it makes me more efficient. And software will eliminate some of those math errors. Now, it won’t make the input any better, but it would certainly impact information going on the wrong line, the totals not being correct, that time, that type of an issue. And also, when we’re dealing with this, let’s use direct deposit. So, you don’t have a refund tied up in the mail. We, we worry about, you know, the safety of the US mail system or delays there might be and then when you don’t get your refund, you’re wanting to maybe call the IRS to find out what’s going on, where’s my refund? Well, I would suggest to use the where’s my refund tool and if you can, try to avoid having to have person to person contact with the IRS. One of the points that we just had up on the screen is a really important one. It’s no different. You see all kinds of files here in my office and many of those contain last year’s returns, even for new clients coming in. The first thing I’m going to do when I start working on your return is I’m going to look at last year’s. So, I think when you start working on your own return, you should also take the advice from those of us who do taxes for a living, start with looking at last year to make sure you’ve got all the information that you should have. And then take a moment to sit back and think about what changed in my world in this last year. You know, we’ve got energy credits out there. If you perhaps did some home improvements and replaced some exterior doors and windows or got a new furnace or an air conditioning unit, there could be things you need to think about as we’re going through. But don’t rush, don’t panic. 2024 is looking a lot like 2023, but back to your opening comments, I think people have delayed because the information they’re getting has been delayed.
09:00 Speaker A
So your last point is, don’t avoid filing because you owe taxes, pay. Even if you owe, what do you do if you owe, but you know you can’t afford it?
09:14 Tom O’Saben
That’s a really, really great question and I think it’s the number one reason people will put their head in the sand and not file. Think about it this way. If you were to go into a bank to borrow some money, I don’t think you would just walk into the bank and say, hi, I’m Tom O’Saben, lend me some money. Well, they’d want to know some information about you, wouldn’t they? Well, the IRS is no different. The IRS and all the departments of revenue are reactionary. In other words, if you think you don’t have the money to pay, it’s due on Tuesday, that’s the filing deadline, you don’t call the IRS today and say, put a note in my file. What you need to do is file the return. Once the IRS has that return, they’ve got something to look at in order to work with you on something as simple as a deferral. You can do an online payment plan, which I’ve read very often is sometimes the easiest way to finance your taxes. But the number one thing to do is don’t delay the filing. Don’t ignore the filing because it won’t go away. File the return and then you can work with the IRS in working out a payment plan or perhaps even, you know, a compromise to settle the debt for less than you owe, if you’ve got some, you know, say substantial medical expenses, lost your job, that kind of, that kind of an issue.
11:25 Speaker A
Really good advice. Tom, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
11:30 Tom O’Saben
Always a pleasure.