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2011 Tax Filing Changes
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TAX ALERTS
Tax filers who do not owe federal taxes have until October 17th to e-file.
  1. Federal Estimated Tax Payments
  2. Tax filing deadline is April 17, 2012 instead of April 15th because April 15 is a Sunday and April 16 is the Emancipation Day holiday in Washington, DC.
  3. Refund Cycle English & Spanish
  4. IRS "Where's My Refund?" Tool
  5. Frequently Used Tax Terms
  6. IRS Collection Process
  7. IRS "Fresh Start" for those who owe taxes - IRS video
  8. Summary of tax changes and updates
  9. Deadlines, Grace Periods and Extentions
  10. FAFSA TIP - Those who use TBB to file their tax returns can take advantage of TBB's auto-fill feature to automatically fill in the FAFSA form. Clients who already filed a tax return without TBB can still use TBB for FAFSA, but completing the FAFSA form with taxes filed through TBB makes the FAFSA experience even better. Learn More Bout FAFSA
  11. Estimated Tax Payments
  12. How to Detect and Report Tax-Related Scams
  13. Identity Theft
  14. Take a look at President Obama's tax return.
  15. Post Tax Season Tax Filing
  16. Tax Credits Extend Beyond Refund
  17. Low Income Tax Clinics
Low Income Tax Clinics
The Low Income Taxpayer Clinic program provides partial funding and oversight for Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs). LITCs are independent from the IRS.

Some clinics serve individuals who need to resolve a tax problem and their income is below a certain level. These clinics provide professional representation before the IRS or in court on audits, appeals, tax collection disputes, and other issues for free or for a small fee.

Some clinics can provide information about taxpayer rights and responsibilities in many different languages for individuals who speak English as a second language.
See List of Clinics
Deadlines, Grace Periods and Extentions

Official 2011 Deadline
The last day to file both the federal and state tax return is Tuesday, April 17th. The traditional tax due date of April 15th is a Sunday and April 16th is the Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C., which is considered a holiday. Since no tax returns are due on weekends, and Monday is a holiday, Tuesday April 17th, is the big due date. Electronic filing: Submit returns by 11:59 pm local time.

Post April 17th Rejection Grace Period
Tax filers have until April 21st to re-file a rejected return. The original return must have been filed by April 17th.

6 Month Grace Period
Tax filers who do not owe federal taxes have until October 17th to e-file.

Tax Filing Extensions
A tax filing deadline extension changes the tax filing deadline from April 17th to October 16th.
IRS Form 4868 must be completed for the federal tax return deadline extension and most states will accept this form for an extension on state return deadlines as well.

Currently, The Benefit Bank does not support Form 4868, but it is easy to obtain Form 4868 through the IRS web site.

-What if money is owed and more time to file is needed?
Some form of estimated payment should accompany the file for deadline extension. The payment will be applied to the tax filer's account. If an overpayment is made, the excess will be returned by the IRS. Please be aware that an extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. The IRS will calculate interest on any past-due tax amounts and late-payment penalties will apply. TBB cannot assist with calculating interest and penalties. Is the ability to file back taxes impacted by the end of tax season? Back taxes are not impacted. Returns for back taxes must be printed and mailed. 2010 tax filing deadlines are extended in Presidentially Declared Disaster Areas.
Clients Who Owe Taxes Six month extension:
The IRS Fresh Start Penalty Relief Initiative provides eligible taxpayers with a six-month extension of time to fully pay 2011 taxes. Interest will run on the 2011 taxes from April 15, 2012, until the tax is paid but no failure-to-pay penalties will be incurred if tax, interest and any other penalties are paid in full by October 15, 2012.
Relief:
The penalty relief is available to two categories of taxpayers:
  1. Wage earners who have been unemployed at least 30 consecutive days during 2011 or in 2012 up to this year's April 17 tax deadline.
  2. Self-employed individuals who experienced a 25 percent or greater reduction in business income in 2011 due to the economy.
Installments:
An installment agreement is a payment option for those who cannot pay their entire tax bill by the due date. The Fresh Start provisions give more taxpayers the ability to use streamlined installment agreements to catch up on back taxes and also more time to pay.
Compromise:
An Offer in Compromise is an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS that settles the taxpayer's tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed. Fortunately, the IRS expanded the Offer in Compromise (OIC) program to cover a larger group of struggling taxpayers.
Federal Estimated Tax Payments
The Federal Estimated Tax Payments program helps users estimate their federal income tax payments for the current year. The IRS requires tax filers who anticipate owing more than $1000 at the end of the year to submit estimated quarterly payments during the year. Such a large tax liability usually results from income that is subject to tax and from which tax is not deducted regularly throughout the year. Types of income that might result in a large tax bill include:
  • self-employment
  • dividends
  • retirement (including Social Security if the user does not request SSA withhold tax)
  • interest
  • wages that do not have enough tax withheld
The Benefit Bank will ask the necessary questions to estimate the tax filer’s estimated tax for each quarter in the calendar year. All supported forms and worksheets can be printed. Clients can send their payments by mail or submit electronic payments through the IRS website.
Email Reminders
Clients need to send in payment vouchers or pay online at most four times throughout the year. Payment due dates are hard to keep track of because quarters vary in length. We send clients email reminders a few days before their payments are due.
Documents Needed to File
Below is a list of documents you will need to bring to The Benefit Bank and information you will need to know to determine your 2012 estimated tax liability: Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) Your 2011 tax return and your spouse’s 2011 tax return (if you were single in 2010 and plan on filing jointly for 2012)
    Documents showing income for 2012. Some examples are:
  • Statements from your financial institution showing interest and/or dividend income
  • Business records you have showing income received from your business
  • Pay stubs from your employers
  • Other documents showing any prizes, awards, hobby income, gambling winnings, etc.
Documents showing any expenses that you plan on claiming for a deduction or credit. Some examples of items that you can claim a deduction or credit for are:
  • Expenses related to your business
  • Educational expenses for classes taken in a college, university, or technical school
  • Medical expenses such as premiums paid for health insurance established under your business or out-of-pocket expenses for diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or treatment affecting any structure or function of the body
  • Child and dependent care expenses
  • IRAs
  • School supplies that you paid for as a teacher for your classroom