J. William Seabrooke CPA P.C.

When preparing your tax returns always assume that the IRS already has the information that was reported to them by third parties, i.e. your banks, mortgage companies, employers, investment firms, retirement account trustees, those for whom you provided services, those who paid you rent, royalties, etc.  Therefore, you should ensure that all of the information in your tax return reflects exactly the same information which is in these reports.  If you find an error, contact the report issuer and inform them of the error then request that you be provided with a “Corrected” report which will also be sent to the IRS.

Wait for the “Corrected” report to be received.  In the interim, if necessary, file a Form 4868 (“Application for an Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return”).  Otherwise, if you file your tax return prematurely you’ll have to file an amended tax return for that tax year (1040-X) to correct the error.

Other common errors include: 

• Did you consider filing your tax return electronically?  By electronically filing your tax return, many common errors may be avoided or corrected by the computer software. Depending on your income, you may even qualify to e-file for free by using IRS Free File. More information is available on the website.
• Did you clearly print your name, social security number, and address, including zip code directly on your return? Note that if you are married but filing a separate return, do not include your spouse’s name.
• Did you enter the names and social security numbers for yourself, your spouse, your dependents, and qualifying children for earned income credit or child tax credit, exactly as they appear on the social security cards? If there have been any name changes be sure to contact the Social Security Administration at www.ssa.gov or call at 800–772–1213.
• Did you check the appropriate exemption boxes and enter the names and social security numbers exactly as they appear on the social security cards, for all of the dependents claimed? Is the total number of exemptions entered?
• Did you enter income, deductions, and credits on the correct lines and are the totals correct?
• If you show a negative amount on your return, did you put brackets around it?
• If you are taking the standard deduction and checked any box indicating either you or your spouse were age 65 or older or blind, did you find the correct standard deduction using the worksheet in the Form 1040 Instructions or the Form 1040A Instructions?
• Did you figure the tax correctly? If you used the tax tables, did you use the correct column for your filing status?
• Do you have a Form W-2 (PDF) from each of your employers and did you attach Copy B of each to your return? File only one return, even if you have more than one job. Combine the wages and withholdings from all Form W-2’s, on one return.
• Did you attach each Form 1099-R (PDF) that shows federal tax was withheld (Block #4)?
• Did you attach all other necessary schedules and forms, in ascending order, using the sequence number order shown in the upper right–hand corner?
• Did you use the correct mailing address from your tax form instructions?
• Did you use a postage stamp on the envelope?
• If you owe tax, did you enclose a check or money order made payable to the “United States Treasury” with the return and include your name, address, social security number, daytime telephone number, tax form, and tax year on the payment? For additional information, refer to Topic 158 , Ensuring Proper Credit of Payments.
• Did you make a copy of the signed return and all schedules for your records?    (more…)