Tag: tax refund

Filing Your Taxes – Helpful IRS Advice

TaxAct

Six Easy Tax Filing Tips

Income tax season does not have to be the worst time of year. The Internal Revenue Service has provided six easy tips that will help people file their taxes this season.

1) Do not leave your taxes until the last minute. Many people avoid filing their tax return until the end of tax season. People who wait until the deadline are more likely to make tax filing mistakes and miss tax savings opportunities. Early filers are less likely to make costly mistakes and the earlier you file your 2010 taxes the sooner you will receive your tax refund.

2) Take advantage of the tax filing information that the IRS is offering via their official website at www.irs.gov. The site lists helpful information, including any recent tax news.

3) Use the tax software and online forms that are available at the www.irs.gov website to make the filing process easier. People who earn under $58,000 per year are eligible for free income tax software access, and anyone can use the e-file service to file their tax return online for free.

4) Nearly 100 million Americans used e-file last year. The online service has become the most popular tax return filing method because it is safe, quick and highly effective. If you want to receive a quick tax refund this year, e-file is the best tax filing option.

5) Do not worry about paying the full income tax amount owed by the April deadline. You can still file your income tax on time, paying as much money as possible. If you do not have enough money to pay your full taxes you should call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to set up a payment system that you can afford. Many people pay their income tax in convenient installments.

6) Those who do not pay their taxes owed by the April due date may have to pay a tax penalty. To avoid the penalty people should request a filing extension by filling out the Form 4868 and sending it to the IRS. To find out more about tax filing extensions you can call the IRS at 800-829-3676 or visit the IRS website.

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Checking the Status Online of Your Tax Refunds

TaxAct

Checking the Status Online of Your Tax Refunds

It might feel good to know that there is a tax refund waiting for you. Congrats! The most common question asked by every expectant taxpayer is; “Where is my refund?” Check status of your refund online.

The quickest and easiest way to check your tax refund is asking the IRS through their web site www.IRS.gov. There is a link called “Where’s My Refund?” on the home page itself. It’s fairly simple to use this service. You only need to have your tax return copy so as to be able to provide the … Read the rest

TaxAct

Checking the Status Online of Your Tax Refunds

It might feel good to know that there is a tax refund waiting for you. Congrats! The most common question asked by every expectant taxpayer is; “Where is my refund?” Check status of your refund online.

The quickest and easiest way to check your tax refund is asking the IRS through their web site www.IRS.gov. There is a link called “Where’s My Refund?” on the home page itself. It’s fairly simple to use this service. You only need to have your tax return copy so as to be able to provide the required data for getting the refund status. To be specific, you will need your social security number, the filing status, and the refund amount. The basic reason for asking about this information is for your personal security; the agency tries to make sure that it is dealing with a genuine taxpayer. Moreover, your return also should have all this information. Otherwise, there might be something wrong.

After inputting all this information, a results page should appear that will show certain messages like:

(i) Return received and it is under processing

(ii) It might show you the expected date for direct deposit of refund or the mailing date

(iii) Refund not issued because of some delivery problem

Sometimes, it might tell you that your return is reviewed by the IRS due to some error or doubtful entry. In situations like this, you should rush on to some expert tax professional and get your return reviewed to make it error-free.

How long should you wait before checking?

In case of electronic filing, the refund status normally becomes accessible after 48 to 72 hours from the actual time of filing your returns. As the return comes into the data base in electronic format, so the system should get very quickly updated. In case of non-electronic filing of your returns, you won’t be able to check status of your return before 3 weeks or sometimes even more. As the IRS receives a lot of returns in paper format, so it takes a plenty of time to enter all the data into the data base.

How much time does it normally take to receive your refund?

The time needed for issuing a refund depends upon the way the return is filed. In case you filed a paper return and sent through regular mail, then the refund could be expected within 6 to 8 weeks after the IRS receives your return. And in case of electronic return filing, you can expect the same within 3 to 4 weeks time. In case you gave preference for direct deposit of the refund in your bank account, then simply take off 1 week from the above calculations.

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How to Check Your Tax Refund Status Online?

TaxAct

How to Check Your Tax Refund Status Online?

Knowing that a tax refund is due after filing their tax returns, many people become happy. In case you have a refund due, then you can check your tax refund status online and here’s how.

Few things regarding tax refunds, I feel, are worth knowing before you proceed towards checking your online status. You should first be aware of the nature of your tax refund and possible internet scams.

If there is a good amount of refund due for you, then it’s better to give a good thought on how much … Read the rest

TaxAct

How to Check Your Tax Refund Status Online?

Knowing that a tax refund is due after filing their tax returns, many people become happy. In case you have a refund due, then you can check your tax refund status online and here’s how.

Few things regarding tax refunds, I feel, are worth knowing before you proceed towards checking your online status. You should first be aware of the nature of your tax refund and possible internet scams.

If there is a good amount of refund due for you, then it’s better to give a good thought on how much you are paying for your quarterly taxes and what is the sum of money getting deducted from your paychecks. Tax refund might sound good, but actually it’s not so. Overpaying your taxes means only that the government is acquiring a free loan from you. For the extra tax payments, you are not going to be paid any interest by the IRS; so it’s useless and you should modify your tax payments.

The next thing to be kept in mind is that you have to visit the IRS web site in order to check your tax refund online status. Because of multitude of phishing scams focusing on tax-related issues, people get numerous fake emails dealing with different aspects of tax refunds. All these emails basically are scams and spams! One thing you should remember is that IRS never sends emails to people notifying about a refund due. To check your refund status, just go nowhere else but the IRS web site. Beware of the fraudulent activities centered around tax issues and don’t spoil the possibility of a tax refund.

To know your tax refund status, find out the IRS web site on the internet and visit that site. Then look for the link Where Is My Refund by inspecting the home page. You only need to follow certain simple steps and a couple of mouse clicks and that’s it; your status is in front of you. For your information, keep your tax return copy handy.

Then you will get some responses from the IRS software. Summarizing, you will see some messages such as the tax return filed, but not processed; tax refund was mailed or sent to your account (date mentioned); or because of some problem, IRS could not deliver refund. In case there is some delay in refund due to some tax return filing issues, IRS will notify you regarding that too.

Again, if there is a sizeable refund for you, then you may like to fine-tune your tax payments. There is really no logic for giving a free loan to the government throughout the year. A good sum of money has already been taken by them.

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Invest your Tax Return

TaxAct

Invest your 2009 Tax Return

The IRS is offering an investment option if you are getting a refund for your 2009 taxes this year. You can transfer your tax refund for a US savings bond of up to $5,000. You can purchase a bond in any denomination of $50, remaining funds need to be directly deposited into a banking account.

It’s just that simple, when you file choose the US Savings Bond option and you will receive your bonds in the mail instead of a refund check. The official form is Form 8888, used to deposit your refund into more … Read the rest

TaxAct

Invest your 2009 Tax Return

The IRS is offering an investment option if you are getting a refund for your 2009 taxes this year. You can transfer your tax refund for a US savings bond of up to $5,000. You can purchase a bond in any denomination of $50, remaining funds need to be directly deposited into a banking account.

It’s just that simple, when you file choose the US Savings Bond option and you will receive your bonds in the mail instead of a refund check. The official form is Form 8888, used to deposit your refund into more than one account. Tax preparation software packages like TurboTax and TaxAct provide the form for you when you indicate that you want to purchase one of the bonds.

The Form 8888 also has instructions if you are completing for the form by hand. This is a nice option if you would be investing the money into a savings account as the bonds provide a better rate of return on average.

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