There's a weird last-minute twist involving a phishing e-mail that appears to be from a legitimate taxpayer and urges a tax professional to change where the refund will be directly deposited. See 3. Don't be tricked into changing direct deposit information. Free File involves services from 12 leading tax software companies. Filers can use the tax software to prepare and e-file their tax return at no cost. Remember, IRS Free File is available for anyone who earned $64,000 or less last year. So if you need to file in two states for 2016, you could still do the federal return for free at Credit Karma but use another service for state returns. But the system doesn't offer the ability to file returns for more than one state right now. Credit Karma offers both free online filing for state and federal returns. By having income data, Credit Karma can better tailor offerings to consumers.įor tax filers, the free online tax preparation services could save filers $70 to $100 compared with some other online services. But it gets paid by financial service companies to recommend credit cards, auto loans, and other financial products to customers. The tax data is not sold or shared with third parties.Ĭredit Karma offers many free services, such as free credit scores. See do have to sign up for free to be a Credit Karma member first.īethy Hardeman, chief consumer advocate for Credit Karma, said tax filers are given the option of agreeing to share their tax filing data with Credit Karma or not. Taxpayers with simple tax returns - a 1040A or 1040EZ - can also prepare and file their federal tax return at no cost at Some good news: Credit Karma - which is popular with millennials-introduced a zero-cost tax prep program this year that applies to any income level, even if you itemize. ![]() If you're an investor or self-employed, the price goes up even higher for online tax services. ![]() You'll need to pay for online tax services if you're a homeowner and taking deductions. H&R Block has a free online software program at now that can be used only by new filers or those with very simple returns. If you have a simple return, though, many free offers remain. It's called "surge pricing." So, if you wait until the last minute, you often do pay a higher price for online tax preparation services. And industry experts note that some prices are higher now for online tax preparation services - maybe by as much as 25% or 30% higher - compared to earlier this year. The bad news is that many free offers involving tax preparation software have ended. Triple check your bank account information if you want a direct deposit for a refund to correctly show up in your account, not someone else's account. (Line 39a on the federal 1040.)īe careful and don't type in the wrong Social Security numbers. Another additional standard deduction is available for those who are blind at any age. 2, 1952, matters because you can be entitled to a higher standard deduction if you and/or your spouse are 65 and older. Checking the right box if you or your spouse were born before Jan. But errors can cause you to miss an important tax break. Here are a few more last-minute tax dos-and-don'ts to get through the next few days: 1. Do check your work. And if you've got to pay, well, you've got to pay. But if you're just procrastinating, any size refund might offer motivation to knock off that 1040 and be done with it. If you waited this long to file your 2016 tax return, it's doubtful that you're expecting a mega-refund. About 73% of tax filers received a refund last year. The average refund issued so far this year: $2,851 - up 1.9% from the same time a year ago. Garcia, an IRS spokesperson in Detroit, noted that it's important to keep in mind that last year's numbers technically included four additional processing days earlier in the season. The filing season officially began on Jan. So far, the IRS has received 3.6% fewer returns than last year for the same time frame.īut Luis D. More than 153 million returns are expected to be filed this year. The latest data indicated that the Internal Revenue Service received 103.6 million tax returns from individuals as of April 7. Roughly 30% of tax filers were still no-shows when it comes to filing federal returns this year through early April. Taxpayers requesting an automatic extension of time to file via Form 4868 - there are no extensions of time to pay - will have until Monday, Oct. However, Emancipation Day, a Washington, D.C., holiday, is observed on Monday. ![]() The official reason: The April 15 deadline falls on Saturday, which would normally give taxpayers until Monday. You have until Tuesday - April 18, instead of April 15 - to submit that return. The IRS has a long-winded explanation for why the deadline is extended, but if you like to drag your feet, you likely don't care.
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