Key Tax Tips
Find out the important factors to consider when doing your taxes.
Find out the important factors to consider when doing your taxes.
The government collects taxes to pay its bills and provide public goods and services. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the nation’s tax collection agency.
The taxes you owe to the government are generally paid through withholding (money taken out of your paycheck), estimated tax payments, and payments made when you file your taxes each year.
You may not have to file a federal income tax return if your income is below a certain amount. However, you must file a tax return to claim a refundable tax credit or a refund on income tax withheld.
If you have to file a tax return:
There are several ways to pay your federal taxes: direct pay, debit or credit card, electronic federal tax payment system, or check or money order. Find out how to make a tax payment.
If you are expecting a refund, you can check your federal tax refund status online or call the Refund Hotline. If you have questions about the status of your refund within the first 21 days after filing electronically, the IRS will direct you to the online Where’s My Refund? tool.
You can choose to receive your tax refund by direct deposit, U.S. Series I Savings Bonds, or paper check.
For more information, contact the IRS.
Do you need more time to prepare your tax return?
If you are unable to file your federal income tax return by the due date, you may be able to get an extension from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). But this does not grant you more time to pay your taxes.
You may be able to get an automatic six-month extension to file your return. To do so, you must file IRS Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return by the due date for filing your calendar year return (usually April 15) or fiscal year return. For a Spanish version of this form, download IRS Form 4868sp.
Special rules may apply if you are:
Get filing information about your tax return, including guidelines on extensions of time to file.
You may get a call from someone pretending to be from the IRS who claims you owe taxes. Individuals carrying out this fraud will also make the caller ID appear as if the IRS is calling. Learn the signs to watch out for and how to report IRS imposter scams.
The IRS will always contact you by mail before calling you about unpaid taxes and will never:
Follow these steps if you get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS asking for a payment and have not first been contacted by the IRS by mail:
Businesses and government agencies use Form 1099 to report various types of income other than wages, salaries, and tips to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Every business or agency must:
You must include this income on your federal tax return.
If you do not agree with the information contained in your Form 1099, contact the business or agency that issued it.
If you did not receive your Form 1099, co