Fun and Important Tax Helps questions for 2017. 🙂
Did you know……..
Tax 2017 Due date!
Did you know….We have a few extra days to file our taxes again this year! Talk about positive tax helps! People have until Tuesday, April 18, 2017 to file their 2016 returns and pay any taxes due. The deadline is later this year due to several factors. The usual April 15 deadline falls on Saturday this year, which would normally give taxpayers until at least the following Monday. However, Emancipation Day, a Washington, D.C. holiday, is observed on Monday, April 17, giving taxpayers nationwide an additional day to file. By law, Washington, D.C. holidays impact tax deadlines for everyone in the same way federal holidays do. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Monday, Oct. 16, 2017 to file.
Tax Tips for Homeowners
Did you know….Publication 530 has great tips and info for homeowners! Here's a link to the publication itself. And here's a link to their “main content” page.
Did you know…there are other publications that may be useful for homeowners as well, including “Selling your home.”
Are you missing a tax refund?
Did you know….There are $1 Billion in unclaimed 2013 tax refunds
A million taxpayers may have a refund waiting to be claimed. Half are estimated at more than $763.  AND Time IS Running Out to Claim $1 Billion in Tax Refunds from 2013!!! Now that's the kind of tax helps I wish I qualified for! 😉
Short Sales!
Did you know…If a lender cancels part or all of a debt, a taxpayer must generally consider this as income. However, the law allows an exclusion that may apply to homeowners who had their mortgage debt canceled in 2016. PLEASE NOTE, AT THIS TIME GOING FORWARD THIS HAS NOT BEEN EXTENDED. SO IF YOU HAVE THIS DEBT CANCELLATION IN 2017, YOU MAY OWE TAXES ON IT NEXT YEAR!
Need Prior Year Tax Forms?
Did you know….You can easily get past years' tax forms from the IRS online –
Retired and collecting social security?
Did you know….that if you are missing your Form SSA-1099, you can get an instant replacement when you open a My Social Security Account
Did you know….that the IRS has a special page just for seniors and retirees?
Tax Scams!
Did you know…there are EXTRA tax scams at this time of year! Stay alert when you answer your phone OR open your email!
Running behind on paperwork?
Did you know…you can get an easy 6 month extension if you need more time to prepare your taxes (that's one of those tax helps that has come in very handy for me many times!)!  An extension allows for extra time to gather, prepare and file paperwork with the IRS, HOWEVER, it does NOT extend the time to pay any tax due. Also, there are several easy ways to do this, including when you make a tax payment in anticipation of owing money.
Caring for grandkids full-time?
Did you know….working Grandparents May Be Eligible for EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) which can be a big help for those caring for their grandkids!
Getting Medicare?
Did you know…there may be an extra medicare tax for those whose income is over a certain amount!
MORE tax helps info?
Did you know…There's a LOT more info online to help us with our taxes. Want to know MORE? Just click here.   🙂
Kaye
P.S. Did you know….My fave tax software is Turbotax! I've used it since it first came out and been very happy with it. Sometimes you can get it free. If you own rentals or your own business or both, you probably need the more advanced versions like the home & business version. 🙂
P.P.S. Here's a tax tip for every year. Did you know…”A revocable trust, like a will, can be structured to minimize Federal and State Estate Taxes. However, avoiding probate DOES NOT avoid or eliminate Federal or State Estate Taxes. The taxation is identical, whether property passes by will or outside of probate, such as through a revocable trust.”
