You’ve spent a number of late nights getting your tax submissions right and on time for the recently-past tax deadline.
With the close of tax season, many individuals and businesses may have tax questions about when they will receive refunds, how to handle tax audits and more. We take a look at some of the most commonly asked post-filing tax questions.
1. What do I do if I made a mistake on my tax return?
If you’ve already filed your taxes, but realize you’ve made a mistake on you tax return, or failed to include relevant information relating to your filing status, income, deductions, credits, or tax liability you would need to file an amended return using Form 1040-X.
2. How can I check the status of my tax return?
Generally, the IRS issues most refunds in less than 21 days, but some may take longer. You can check the status your refund from the IRS in the following ways:
- With Where’s My Refund? on IRS.gov. All you need is internet access and this information:
- Your Social Security numbers
- Your filing status
- Your exact whole-dollar refund amount
- If you’re on the go, you can also use the IRS2Go app to track your refund status
You can start checking on the status of your return within 24 hours after the IRS received your e-filed return, or four weeks after mailing a paper return.
3. What happens if I can’t pay my taxes?
You need to file your tax return regardless of whether you can afford to pay what you owe to the IRS or not.
You may qualify for a self-service, online payment plan (including an installment agreement) that allows you to pay off an outstanding balance over time.
Online payment plans include:
- Short-term payment plan – The payment period is 120 days or less and the total amount owed is less than $100,000 in combined tax, penalties and interest.
- Long-term payment plan – The payment period is longer than 120 days, paid in monthly payments, and the amount owed is less than $50,000 in combined tax, penalties and interest.
You can consult with a CPA to aid you in approaching the IRS for one of the payment plans, if you are eligible for it.
4. What triggers an IRS Audit?
A number of factors can trigger an IRS audit, these include
- Being a high-net-worth individual or family
- Claiming large amounts in deductions
- Possible discrepancies on your tax return
- Being randomly selected for an audit
The IRS receives information from various sources, including financial institutions, employers, and more. When the data doesn’t add up between what you declare and what affiliates have declared on your behalf, the IRS would have a reason to look into the discrepancy. For obvious reasons that include the handling of large amounts of money, high net-worth individuals and families are also favored by the IRS for auditing. The best thing you can do in the event of an audit is to cooperate in providing your accounting records and any supporting justification that they may require.
The IRS recommends keeping tax documents for at least three years from the date you filed your original return or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. It is advisable to liaise with your CPA if you are audited by the IRS, they could aid in navigating the audit process smoothly.
At Fusion, we help individuals and businesses submit their taxes timeously to the IRS. We look at your income and expenses holistically to ensure accurate submissions to the IRS, to help you remain tax compliant, and make sure that you are making use of all the relevant deductions available to you. In addition, our CPA’s have specialist knowledge of tax audits and how to handle them.
This blog article is not intended to be the rendering of legal, accounting, tax advice or other professional services. Articles are based on current or proposed tax rules at the time they are written and older posts are not updated for tax rule changes. We expressly disclaim all liability in regard to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this blog as well as the use or interpretation of this information. Information provided on this website is not all-inclusive and such information should not be relied upon as being all-inclusive.
