income tax return

Tax

Tax Due Dates for September 2013

 

September 10 Employees Who Work for Tips – If you received $20 or more in tips during August, report them to your employer. You can use Form 4070.
September 16 Individuals – Make a payment of your 2013 estimated tax if you are not paying your income tax for the year through withholding (or will not pay in enough tax that way). Use Form 1040-ES. This is the third installment date for estimated tax in 2013.Corporations – File a 2012 calendar year income tax return (Form 1120 or 1120-A) and pay any tax due. This due date applies only if you made a timely request for an automatic 6-month extension.

S corporations – File a 2012 calendar year income tax return (Form 1120S) and pay any tax due. This due date applies only if you made a timely request for an automatic 6-month extension. Provide each shareholder with a copy of Schedule K-1 (Form 1120S) or a substitute Schedule K-1.

Partnerships – File a 2012 calendar year income tax return (Form 1065). This due date applies only if you were given an additional 5-month extension. Provide each shareholder with a copy of Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) or a substitute Schedule K-1.

Corporations – Deposit the third installment of estimated income tax for 2013. A worksheet, Form 1120-W, is available to help you make an estimate of your tax for the year.

Employers – Nonpayroll withholding. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in August.

Employers – Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in August.
Tax

Eight Facts on Late Filing and Late Payment Penalties

April 15 is the annual deadline for most people to file their federal income tax return and pay any taxes they owe. If, for whatever reason, you missed the deadline you may be assessed penalties for both failing to file a tax return and for failing to pay taxes they owe by the deadline. Here are eight important facts every taxpayer should know about penalties for filing or paying late:

1. A failure-to-file penalty may apply if you did not file by the tax filing deadline. A failure-to-pay penalty may apply if you did not pay all of the taxes you owe by the tax filing deadline.

2. The failure-to-file penalty is generally more than the failure-to-pay penalty. You should file your tax return on time each year, even if you’re not able to pay all the taxes you owe by the due date. You can reduce additional interest and penalties by paying as much as you can with your tax return. You should explore other payment options such as getting a loan or making an installment agreement to make payments. Contact us if you need help figuring out how to pay what you owe.

3. The penalty for filing late is normally 5 percent of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that a tax return is late. That penalty starts accruing the day after the tax filing due date and will not exceed 25 percent of your unpaid taxes.

4. If you do not pay your taxes by the tax deadline, you normally will face a failure-to-pay penalty of 1/2 of 1 percent of your unpaid taxes. That penalty applies for each month or part of a month after the due date and starts accruing the day after the tax-filing due date.

5. If you timely requested an extension of time to file your individual income tax return and paid at least 90 percent of the taxes you owe with your request, you may not face a failure-to-pay penalty. However, you must pay any remaining balance by the extended due date.

6. If both the 5 percent failure-to-file penalty and the 1/2 percent failure-to-pay penalties apply in any month, the maximum penalty that you’ll pay for both is 5 percent.

7. If you file your return more than 60 days after the due date or extended due date, the minimum penalty is the smaller of $135 or 100 percent of the unpaid tax.

8. You will not have to pay a late-filing or late-payment penalty if you can show reasonable cause for not filing or paying on time. Give us a call if you have any questions about what constitutes reasonable cause.

Special penalty relief may apply to taxpayers who requested an extension of time to file their 2012 federal income tax returns and some victims of the recent severe storms in parts of the South and Midwest.

In addition, taxpayers affected by the Boston explosions tragedy also qualify for individual tax filing and payment extensions. If you need assistance, please don’t hesitate to call us. We are here to help you.

Tax

Ten Facts on Filing an Amended Tax Return

What should you do if you already filed your federal tax return and then discover a mistake? First of all, don’t worry. In most cases all you have to do is file an amended tax return. But before you do that, here are 10 facts you should be aware of when filing an amended tax return.

1. Use Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, to file an amended tax return. An amended return cannot be e-filed. You must file it on paper. Contact us if you need assistance or have any questions about Form 1040X.

2. Consider filing an amended tax return if there is a change in your filing status, income, deductions or credits.

3. In most cases, you do not need to file an amended return to correct math errors because the IRS automatically makes those changes for you. Also, do not file an amended return because you forgot to attach tax forms, such as W-2s or schedules. The IRS normally will send a request asking for those.

4. Generally, you must file Form 1040X within three years from the date you filed your original tax return or within two years of the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. Be sure to enter the year of the return you are amending at the top of Form 1040X.

5. If you are amending more than one tax return, prepare a 1040X for each return and mail them to the IRS in separate envelopes. You will find the appropriate IRS address to mail your return to in the Form 1040X instructions.

6. If your changes involve the need for another schedule or form, you must attach that schedule or form to the amended return.

7. If you are filing an amended tax return to claim an additional refund, wait until you have received your original tax refund before filing Form 1040X. Amended returns take up to 12 weeks to process. You may cash your original refund check while waiting for the additional refund.

8. If you owe additional taxes with Form 1040X, file it and pay the tax as soon as possible to minimize interest and penalties.

9. You can track the status of your amended tax return for the current year three weeks after you file. You can also check the status of amended returns for up to three prior years.

10. To use the “Where’s My Amended Return” tool on the IRS website, just enter your taxpayer identification number (usually your Social Security number), date of birth and zip code. If you have filed amended returns for more than one year, you can select each year individually to check the status of each.

Questions about amended returns? Give us a call today. We’ll take care of it so you don’t have to.

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