Haven’t filed your tax return yet? Here’s what you need to know

New York
CNN
—

So far this tax season, the IRS has received more than 100 million tax returns for 2022.

That means tens of millions of families still have to file their taxes. If you’re one of them, here are some last-minute tax filing tips to keep in mind as the Tuesday, April 18, deadline approaches.

Not everyone has to file a tax return on April 18: If you live in a federally designated disaster area, have a business there, or have relevant tax documents filed by businesses in that area, the IRS has likely already extended the filing and payment deadlines for you. Here’s where you can find the specific extension dates for each disaster area.

Thanks to several bouts of extreme weather in recent months, for example, taxpayers in most of California (which represents 10% to 15% of all federal taxpayers) have already received an extension until Oct. 16 to file and pay their taxes, according to an IRS spokesperson.

If you are in the military and are currently or recently deployed to a combat zone, your 2022 tax filing and payment deadlines are most likely extended by 180 days. But your specific extended filing and payment deadlines will depend on the day you leave (or left) the combat zone. This IRS publication provides more details.

Finally, if you earned little or nothing last year (typically less than $12,950 for single taxpayers and $25,900 for married couples), you may not have to file a return. But you may still want to file if you think you’re entitled to a refund, thanks to, for example, refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit. (Use this IRS tool to see if you need to file this year.) You also likely qualify for IRS Free File (designed for those with adjusted gross income of $73,000 or less), so it won’t cost you to file a return.

Your salary may not be your only source of income: If you had a full-time job, you might think that’s the only income you earned that you need to report. But that’s not necessarily the case.

Other potentially taxable and reportable sources of income include:

Organize your tax documents: By now you should have received all the tax documents that third parties are required to send you (your employer, your bank, your intermediary, etc.).

If you don’t remember receiving a paper copy of your tax form in the mail, check your email and online accounts – you may have received an electronic document.

Here are some of the tax forms you may have received:

“Keep in mind that there is no form for some taxable income, such as income from renting out your vacation home, which means you are required to self-report it,” according to the Illinois CPA Society.

A Last Minute Way to Reduce Your 2022 Tax Bill: If you are eligible to make a tax-deductible contribution to an IRA and didn’t do so last year, you have until April 18 to contribute up to $6,000 ($7,000 if you’re 50 or older). This will reduce your tax bill and boost your retirement savings.

Please review your statement before submitting it: Do this whether you use tax software or work with a professional tax preparer.

Small mistakes and oversights delay the processing of your return (and the issuing of your refund if you’re entitled to one). You want to avoid things like a typo in your name, birth date, Social Security number, or direct deposit number; choosing the wrong filing status (e.g., married vs. single); making a simple math mistake; or leaving a required field blank.

What to do if you can’t apply by April 18: If you are unable to file by next Tuesday, fill out Form 4868 electronically or on paper and submit it by April 18. You will automatically be granted a six-month extension to file.

Note, however, that a filing extension is not a payment extension. You will be charged interest (currently 7%) and a penalty on any amount you still owe for 2022 that you have not paid by April 18.

So if you suspect you still owe taxes (maybe you had income outside of work that wasn’t taxed, or you had a large capital gain last year), make a rough estimate of how much you still owe and send that money to the IRS by Tuesday.

You can choose to do this by mail, enclosing a check with your extension request form. Make sure the envelope is postmarked no later than April 18.

Or the most efficient route is to pay your dues electronically at IRS.gov, said CPA Damien Martin, a tax partner at EY. If you do that, the IRS notes that you won’t have to file a Form 4868. “The IRS will automatically process an extension of time for filing,” the agency notes in its instructions.

If you choose to pay electronically directly from your bank account, which is a free option, select “extend” and then “tax year 2022” when offered the option.

You can also pay by credit or debit card, but you will be charged a processing fee. Doing so, however, could be much more expensive than a simple fee if you charge for the fees but do not pay your credit card bill in full each month, since you are likely paying a high interest rate on the outstanding balances.

If you still owe income taxes to your state, remember that you may need to follow a similar process, which involves filing an extension and making a payment to your state’s tax office, Martin said.

Use this interactive tax assistant for basic questions you may have: The IRS provides an “interactive tax assistant” that can help you answer more than 50 basic questions about your individual situation regarding income, deductions, credits, and other technical matters.