Happy Tax Day Taxpayers for Common Sense

The scene takes place beneath sharply-cusped arches and against a fiery background. Wearing a brilliant blue garment and purple cloak, Christ addresses Matthew, whose money table has been dramatically tilted to reveal neat piles of gold and silver coins. Here are answers to questions you may have as you prepare to file your 2022 taxes. Through surveys, the IRS found significant interest in a government-run filing system, but also challenges.

A. Anyone who had a gross income of more than $8,000 in Massachusetts must file a state tax return. If you want to claim certain refundable credits, like the Earned Income Tax Credit or Circuit Breaker Credit, you must file a tax return, even if your income is below $8,000. The bottom line is the U.S. relies on volunteer compliance for paying taxes. It’s important that all filers are paying what they owe, no more, no less. Not what savvy lawyers and unscrupulous accountants say they owe – or don’t owe. No one wants to feel like a sucker, so having an IRS that gives the public confidence that everyone is paying their tax liabilities is important.

Weekly WastebasketHappy Tax DayAt Least the Process Should be Less of a Pain This Year

If you invest in a 529 Plan you can congratulate yourself for making a wise investment choice that also comes with multiple tax benefits. 529 Plans are among the most tax-efficient instruments available for someone to save for future higher education expenses — whether those expenses are for you, your children, or your grandchildren (or frankly, anyone else). We know that the cost of higher education continues to outpace inflation and we also know that the cost of not being educated in the 21st century is extremely high. What we sometimes ignore, however, is that a dollar saved for higher education today means one dollar less in debt tomorrow. In addition, in our rapidly changing and increasingly competitive workplace, planning for future education and re-training is key to achieving career satisfaction over a working lifetime.

Whether you finished the first draft of your return on January 1st or will be filing for that extension on Tuesday night (we have both kinds of people on staff) one thing should be true—the filing process is a little bit easier. One survey found 72% of taxpayers would be «very interested» or «somewhat interested» in a system that allowed them to file returns directly with the government at no cost. The option was most popular with younger people, those with limited English skills and people who do their own taxes.

Happy Tax Day. Here’s what you need to know about filing this year.

«That solution will unnecessarily cost taxpayers billions of dollars and especially harm the most vulnerable Americans.» Many other countries already offer taxpayers a government-run filing system. But the IRS plan is likely to face stiff opposition from the $14 billion tax-preparation industry. In the late nineteen-seventies, tax revolts spread throughout the nation and https://turbo-tax.org/ popularized a conception of the tax as an insult to democratic practice rather than an embodiment of it. Today, United Ways across the nation are experiencing steep declines in contributions; the age of centralized charity administration is largely over. For many, the individual discretion of the private giver is too precious a resource to delegate to a third party.

• It requires a close analysis by you or someone you have hired to file your return.
• The IRS is developing a system that would let taxpayers send electronic returns directly to the government for free, sidestepping commercial options such as TurboTax.
• Natural disasters or public health emergencies, most recently the COVID-19 pandemic, also delay Tax Day when they prevent filing taxes on time, and state income agencies often delay their own submission deadlines to remain in common with that of the federal government.
• One strawman is that the IRS won’t effectively implement a free-file system because it isn’t in the government’s interest to help taxpayers pay the least amount they owe.
• The IRS has already processed 99.7 percent of all tax returns it has received, much better than last year at this time (93.2 percent) and 2021 (86 percent).

Last but not least is the charitable deduction, which allows filers to write off donations to nonprofits. This is most useful for very high earners, who can choose to spend on causes they care about while reaping both tax benefits and public good will. Such measures would allow the public, not private individuals, to choose the best ways to help the most vulnerable populations.

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Some of us will end up paying a good chunk of their salary to the IRS right around this time, while others paid their taxes throughout the year with their paycheck, which means they may be getting a nice refund in the next few weeks. The state says it refunded about 13 percent of the amount of state income taxes you paid in 2021. If you paid $5,000 in state income taxes, for example, you should have received about $650 in a so-called 62F refund; $10,000 in income taxes, about $1,300; $15,000, $1,950, and so on. The IRS has already processed 99.7 percent of all tax returns it has received, much better than last year at this time (93.2 percent) and 2021 (86 percent).

We saw in 2021 how temporarily expanding refundable tax credits like the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) drastically reduced poverty. During fiscal year 2022, the IRS collected more than $4.9 trillion in gross taxes, processed more than 262.8 million tax returns and other forms, and issued more than $641.7 billion in tax refunds. Its annual data book released last week also notes that the overall individual audit rate fell from 0.5 percent in tax year 2017 to 0.3 percent in tax year 2018, the most recent year of data made public. Since April 15th is a Saturday and Monday is a Washington, DC holiday (Emancipation Day) the country gets to wait until April 18th to file their taxes this year.

Congress addressed that issue years ago by making a portion of child tax credits “refundable” — giving families cash grants instead of credits they can’t use. The Inflation Reduction Act’s electric vehicle tax credit applies in full to ten car models. A list released yesterday indicates which all-electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell electric vehicles that, if purchased new in 2023 or after, are eligible for the federal income tax credit of up to $7,500. A White House official told The Hill that about 65 percent of first-quarter electric vehicle sales qualified for the tax credit. All jokes aside, while no one likes filling out their taxes every year, the tax code represents one of the most powerful tools we have to combat poverty in the U.S.

The refund was mandated by a long-ago voter-passed measure intended to limit state tax revenue growth. One challenge is how to integrate state tax returns, which would make a IRS-run system more attractive. The system could also be a stepping stone to having the IRS fill in parts of a tax return itself, using information from employers and other sources. The middle https://turbo-tax.org/happy-tax-day/ of April strikes dread (or joy) in the hearts of millions of tax filers. Since 1955, April 15 has typically marked the end of the tax season in the continental US. This year, however, filers have received a three-day reprieve to accommodate Emancipation Day in Washington D.C, which is observed on the weekday closest to April 16 when it falls on a weekend.

He’s trying to fix the IRS and has $80 billion to play with. This is his plan

Lacking resources to create their own system, the IRS relied on electronic tax filing giants H+R Block and Intuit (Turbotax) to provide this service to taxpayers. Of course, this would cut into their profit margin, so the companies either didn’t make it easier or tried to upsell clients. The IRA provided funds and direction that the IRS construct their own free file system, something the National Taxpayer Advocate and others have been pushing for years. In the United States, Tax Day is the day on which individual income tax returns are due to be submitted to the federal government.[3] Since 1955, Tax Day has typically fallen on or just after April 15.

• A. It depends on how complicated your tax return is likely to be.
• Republicans have already objected, and some DFL members have signaled that not all proposed increases will survive the legislative session.
• Taxpayers deserve an IRS that is both efficient and works for them.
• The middle of April strikes dread (or joy) in the hearts of millions of tax filers.
• But then the state determined you overpaid in taxes that year and refunded you $1,040 (13 percent).
• A White House official told The Hill that about 65 percent of first-quarter electric vehicle sales qualified for the tax credit.

The IRS is working on a plan that would allow taxpayers to file directly with the government online, but tax preparation companies plan stiff opposition. At mid-century, voluntary giving did not undermine the moral status of paying taxes; it helped to bolster it. In the first half of the twentieth century, Community Chests were established in hundreds of cities throughout North America. The Chests would make an annual appeal for funds for the city’s charities—replacing the uncoördinated flurries of solicitations that had long bedevilled givers—and then allocate the funds rationally, based on expert analysis of community needs.

Both the IRS and the state permit paper filings, but they really don’t want you to do that, warning it will cause delays. Presumably, the same small percentage of state filers use paper. A. Anyone who received income over a certain amount in 2022, including US citizens (residing in the United States or abroad) and lawful permanent residents (green card holders). If you earned more than $12,950 — $25,900 for a married couple filing jointly — you are required to file. A. The size of the child tax credit was greatly diminished in 2022, as pandemic relief money dried up.

If you are self-employed or own a business or rental property, consider hiring a CPA, tax attorney, or an enrolled agent (licensed by the IRS). As a result, the IRS has hired more than 5,000 new telephone workers and added more in-person staff to help taxpayers, the IRS says. The Income Tax Department of India will observe Income Tax Day or ‘Aaykar Diwas’ on July 24, 2023 to commemorate the introduction of provision of income tax in the country. «If the government is requiring me to file, they should offer a free service,» one survey respondent said. Legislation passed last year gave the IRS $15 million to study the idea. A remarkable depiction of Christ calling Matthew appears in the Picture Book of Madame Marie, a thirteenth–century French devotional manuscript now at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.