No matter the level of income you earn, even the thought of filing your tax return all by yourself can open doors to a world of stress.
This gets all the more challenging if you take on this process for the first time in your life. With that being said, it only takes some basic knowledge for you to navigate this maze-like a finance maven.
To help you take care of this important financial obligation, here’s how to file your tax return.
Learn If You Need To File A Tax Return
Most people in the United States need to file a tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The requirement depends upon your gross annual income, age, and filing status. Similar to reading a guide to improve your cryptanalysis, you can check for these details through the IRS website to determine if you need to file a tax return.
Gather Your Income Details
Once you have confirmed that you need to file a tax return, you can put together your total income details. This includes your paychecks from your full-time and part-time jobs, as well as your revenue from investments like real estate and stocks.
You can then calculate these details through a program like Intuit Accountants to properly file your taxes. For this purpose, you can also use certain mobile apps.
Select A Filing Status
Before you can submit your tax returns, you need to pick your filing status. If you are unmarried, you may want to file as a single individual.
But if you are married, you might want to choose the married filing jointly route to reap the most benefits. You can think of this approach as using the Honeydue couples budgeting app to easily manage your finances.
Choose Between Standard Deduction And Itemized Deductions
When it comes to filing tax returns, you need to choose between standard deductions and itemized deductions.
Standard deduction easily lowers your taxable income by a fixed amount, while itemized deductions are more detailed and based on your expenses.
In case you have reaped the benefits of financial modeling in the past, you can take either of these routes without much stress.
Learn About Tax Credits
A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your tax bill. You can earn tax credits through a variety of actions like installing solar panels at your home.
Some tax credits are refundable, which means that once you reduce your tax bill to zero, you can claim the remaining tax credit amount as a refund.
You can grow your income with applicable tax credits by using solutions like the EverBank Performance Savings account.
Check If You Can Use IRS Direct File
If you have a simple tax return, you can use the IRS Direct File service to file your taxes. You can access this solution from the IRS website and use all the details that you have to submit your tax returns.
Since many organizations now understand the reasons to use infographics in information campaigns, you can also access visual guides to go about this process.
Decide How You Want To Settle Your Tax Bill
For many people, filing tax returns is a matter of settling their tax bill with the withholding tax that employers automatically deduct from their paycheck.
But for others, this amount might not exist or might not be enough to settle the tax bill. If you owe any taxes, decide if you want to pay them online or through a manual financial instrument.
Keep Tabs On Your Refund Status
Typically, your refund amount shows up 48 hours after you file your tax return with the IRS. From there, you can submit a request to receive it. You can claim your refund amount within 3 years of filing your return.
The fastest method to receive a refund is through the e-file process that takes 21 days for it to be credited. You can also use a reminder app like Remember The Milk to regularly check the status of your refund.
By going through these tips, you can make sure to file your tax returns without stretching yourself thin. This can help you breeze through this otherwise difficult process.
