Last minute tax filing tips | CNN Business

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So far this tax season, the IRS has received more than 100 million income tax returns for 2022.

That means tens of millions of households have yet to file their returns. If yours is among them, here are some last-minute tax filing tips to keep in mind as the Tuesday, April 18, deadline approaches.

Not everyone has to file on April 18: If you live in a federally declared disaster area, have a business there, or have relevant tax documents on file for businesses in that area, the IRS may have already extended the filing and payment deadlines for you. This is where you can find the specific extension dates for each disaster area.

Thanks to many rounds of extreme weather in recent months, for example, taxpayers in most of California, which make up 10% to 15% of all federal taxpayers, have already been granted an extension until January 16. October to present and pay. according to an IRS spokesperson.

If you are in the military and are currently or were recently stationed in a combat zone, your 2022 tax filing and payment deadlines will likely be extended by 180 days. But your specific extended filing and payment deadlines will depend on the day you leave (or left) the combat zone. This IRS publication provides more details.

Finally, if you earned little or no money last year (generally less than $12,950 for singles and $25,900 for married couples), you may not need to file a return. But you might want to do it anyway if you think you’re eligible for a refund thanks to, say, refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit. (Use this IRS tool to assess whether you should file a return this year.) You’ll also likely be eligible to use IRS Free File (intended for people with adjusted gross income of $73,000 or less), so it won’t cost you to file a return. return.

Your paycheck may not be your only source of income: If you had a full-time job, you may think that is the only income you earned and you should report it. But that is not necessarily so.

Other potentially taxable and reportable sources of income include:

Organize your tax documents: By now you should have received all the tax documents that third parties are required to send you (your employer, bank, brokerage, etc.).

If you don’t remember receiving a paper copy of a tax form in the mail, check your email and online accounts; a document may have been sent to you electronically.

Here are some of the tax forms you may have received:

“Keep in mind that there is no form for some taxable income, such as rental earnings from your vacation property, which means you are responsible for self-reporting,” according to the Illinois CPA Society.

A last-minute way to lower your 2022 tax bill: If you’re eligible to make a tax-deductible contribution to an IRA and haven’t done so in the past year, you have until April 18 to contribute up to $6,000 ($7,000 if age 50 or older). That will lower your tax bill and increase your retirement savings.

Review your statement before submitting it: Do this whether you’re using tax software or working with a professional tax preparer.

Small errors and oversights delay the processing of your return (and the issuance of your refund if one is due). You want to avoid things like having a typo in your name, date of birth, Social Security number, or direct deposit number; choosing the wrong marital status (for example, married or single); make a simple math mistake; or by leaving a required field blank.

What to do if you can’t file your return by April 18: If you can’t file by next Tuesday, fill out Form 4868 electronically or on paper and submit by April 18. You will be granted an automatic six-month extension to file.

Keep in mind, however, that an extension to file is not an extension to pay. You will be charged interest (currently 7%) and a penalty for any amount you still owe for 2022 but haven’t paid by April 18.

So if you suspect you still owe taxes, perhaps you had some income outside of work for which taxes were not withheld, or you had a large capital gain last year, figure out how much more you owe and send that money to the IRS by Tuesday. . .

You may choose to do so by mail, attaching a check to your extension request form. Make sure your envelope is postmarked no later than April 18.

Or the most efficient route is to pay what you owe electronically on IRS.gov, said CPA Damien Martin, a tax partner at EY. If you do, the IRS notes that you won’t have to file a Form 4868. “The IRS will automatically process an extension of time to file,” the agency notes in its instructions.

If you choose to pay electronically directly from your bank account, which is free, select “extension” and then “fiscal year 2022” when presented with the option.

You can also pay by credit or debit card, but you will be charged a processing fee. However, doing so can become much more expensive than just a fee if you charge your tax bill but don’t pay your credit card bill in full each month, since you’ll likely pay a high interest rate on balances. earrings.

If you still owe income taxes to your state, remember that you may need to go through a similar exercise of requesting an extension and making a payment to your state’s department of revenue, Martin said.

Use this interactive tax wizard for basic questions you may have: The IRS provides an “interactive tax assistant” that can help you answer more than 50 basic questions related to your individual circumstances about income, deductions, credits, and other technical questions.