Are You Behind on Your Filings?
Tax filing is one of those things that many people put off till last minute. As a matter of fact sometimes they neglect them altogether and find themselves having not filed for several years.
If you are behind on filing your taxes here is a short article to help you get organized and put together a plan to get caught up.
- Hopefully you have good records, but if you have not done so, gather up your information so you can get prepared to file a tax return. This includes gathering up your W-2s, 1099s, and interest deductions that are due to you. If you have lost your tax records you may need to contact the IRS to get copies of income transcripts.
- Once you are organized it is time to file your past due returns. You can print off copies of the correct year online if you do not have the proper forms. You can also use online software to do it for you.
Depending on what is involved you may even need to hire a professional tax person to do them for you. One benefit of hiring a professional is they have dealt with the IRS in the past and maybe able to help you prepare your forms properly. - If you owe for some years, and are due refunds for others, expect those refunds to be used to pay any back taxes plus interest.
- If you owe you may as well face up to the fact that you're going to have to put together a plan to pay the IRS. This is often where people fall behind on their tax filing to begin with. The bottom line is not dealing with this problem will only cause you more trouble with the IRS than you want.
- One final tip is to go ahead and take a look at next year right now while you are in the tax filing mood. If you are not properly withholding you need to make adjustments and fill out a new W-4 now.