Posts Tagged ‘tax refunds’

Be Sure To Check Your Tax Credits Before You File Your Tax Return!

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice.

 Congress regularly changes the provisions of the U.S. Tax Code for different reasons.  One reason is to provide an offset to your income tax liability which is in the form of a “tax credit” which is similar to and almost as important as a credit posted to your credit card account.  Both reduce the amounts that you owe to either the taxing authority (Internal Revenue Service) or your credit card company.  You’ll never have too much of either!  Insofar as “tax credits” are concerned, they are classified as “refundable” or non-refundable”. 

Refundable tax credits are the best.  For example, if you do not owe any income taxes but you have a $2,000.00 refundable tax credit, you’ll receive a tax refund of $2,000.00.  However, in the same situation with a non-refundable tax credit of $2,000.00 you will receive no tax refund. (more…)

Tax Refund Tips

Monday, April 4th, 2011

If you provided either your Federal or State government with an “interest free loan” in 2010, it may be time to submit your claim for your income tax refund.  However, there are some important tips and facts that you should know before you file your 2010 tax returns:

  1. Consider e-filing your tax returns -  It will soon become mandatory.  Get on board now.   If you paper-file there will be a delay in the time that your tax return reaches the taxing authorities while it is in the U.S. Postal System.  After it arrives and is sorted, your tax return data will probably be manually keyed in to the IRS system by a seasonal employee and your refund check will be mailed to you six to eight weeks after your tax returns were received.  Add three to seven more days in-transit time while your check  is in the U.S. Postal System and it could be almost nine to ten weeks before your refund check arrives in your mailbox.
  2. Consider using the direct deposit alternative for your tax refunds –  it’s fast, and easy.  Enter your bank name, routing number, and full account number in the appropriate blocks for your paper tax return or tax software (recommended).  If you file your tax return electronically your tax refund will normally be issued within three weeks after you receive an “Accepted” acknowledgement notification from the IRS.  These times will vary with State tax returns.  Ther IRS publishes a refund cycle every year.  Click on this link for the 2011 tax refund cycle information in Publication 2043. 
  3. Revise your Federal and State tax withholding – depending on your tax bracket and total income, an annual income tax refund of  $200-$500 may be acceptable to you to avoid underpayment penalties and interest.  However, if your annual income tax refund is many times this amount, contact your payroll department or revise the amounts for your quarterly estimated tax deposits, or adjust a combination of both factors.
  4. Tax withholding planning tip – if you owe the U.S. Treasury taxes from prior years, an active installment payment plan, partial satisfaction of a tax levy etc the IRS will probably apply your income tax refund to these outstanding balances before determining if any amounts are actually due to you.  A similar practice may be followed by your State taxing authorities.  Read tax planning tip #3 above again!!!  You may need to cancel your reservations for that trip down to St. Barts! (more…)

Federal Income Tax Refunds-Where’s My $$$?

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

If you are reading this article it’s very likely that you have already realized that you need to have your tax refund as quickly as possible.  While the Federal and State taxing authorities have more money than we do, our tax refund is a lot more important to us than it is to them!  Your goal should be to take advantage of every opportunity to accelerate the process and receive your income tax refund as quickly as possible.

Among the options that are available to you are to:

1)  e-file – faster processing of your tax returns and  fewer opportunities for processing errors by the taxing authorities, and

2)  direct deposit – if you look at the Federal e-file refund cycle chart on this website you’ll see that direct deposit refunds are sent electronically about eight days after the end of the cycle period. Checks are mailed seven days later. Add 5-7 days for in transit mail time and you should conclude that you’ll have your tax refund about 12-14 days sooner if you wisely select the e-file/direct deposit alternative. You can also track the status of your refund via the “Where’s My Refund” section of the IRS website or by calling 1-800-829-1954.

Note: While most states offer a similar option their refund cycle period may not be on par with the Internal Revenue Service.

Additonally, if you owe the taxing authority delinquent taxes or are on an installment payment plan, etc you should expect to have your refund applied to that unpaid balance. If there are any remaining funds due you afterwards that amount will be sent to you.

Here is additional information on this subject : (more…)