Articles

Last Minute Tax Tips

1) decide where you'll be itemizing. Though itemizing on a tax return is more involved than claiming the standard deduction., it could pay off. To determine whether it makes sense to itemize, see if your individual deductions exceed the standard deduction in 2017, which is $6,350 for single tax filers and $12,700 for married couples filing jointly. 

2) Don't estimate your deductions. If you do decide to itemize on your 2017 tax return, you'll need to do a solid job of calculating your deductions rather than guessing at them. Otherwise, you risk raising a red flag with the IRS. So leave yourself enough time to comb through your records, dig  through the receipts, and figure out exactly how much you spent in different deductible categories

3) Report All Income. If you are salaried worker with no other income, then reporting your earnings it pretty easy. Those who receive income from various sources, however, whether it be freelance work or investments tend to run into trouble when they neglect to report all of their earnings. So here a firm but friendly warning. You are required to list all income you received a 1099 form listing income

4) Read Up on Tax Credits. Unlike tax deductions, which work excluding a portion of your income from taxes. Tax credits are a dollar for dollar reduction of your tax liability which makes the quite valuable. There are a number of credits that could lower your tax bill and in some cases boost yourchanges of a refund. 

5) Check Your Return Thoroughly for Errors. If you've yet to file your tax return at this point, you are inevitably feeling a time crunch. But that shouldn't  stop you from reviewing your return thoroughly. Fail to catch key errors, and you could wind up being audited or having your tax return rejected outright