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It’s that time of year again—preparing those tax returns! Below are the top five things to remember when filing income tax returns in 2022.
- Use e-file and direct deposit to avoid delays. Taxpayers should electronically file and choose direct deposit as soon as they have everything they need to file an accurate return. The software helps individuals avoid mistakes by doing the math, and guides you through each section of their tax return using a question-and-answer format.
- Collect all documents before preparing a tax return. Make sure stimulus payment and advance Child Tax Credit information is accurate. In addition to collecting W-2s, Form 1099s and other income-related statements, it is important that people have their advance Child Tax Credit and Economic Impact Payment information on hand when filing.
- Avoid lengthy phone delays. Use online resources before calling the IRS. Phone demand on IRS assistance lines remains at record highs. The IRS urges people to use IRS.gov to get answers to tax questions, check a refund status or pay taxes. These online tools and resources are available 24 hours a day.
- Waiting on a 2020 tax return to be processed? For those waiting on their 2020 tax return to be processed, make sure to enter $0 (zero dollars) for last year’s Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) on the 2021 tax return. For those who used a Non-Filer tool in 2021 to register for an advance Child Tax Credit or third Economic Impact Payment in 2021, they should enter $1 as their prior year AGI. Everyone else should enter their prior year’s AGI from last year’s return. If using the same tax preparation software as last year, this field will auto-populate.
- Free resources are available to help taxpayers file. There are many options for free help, including many resources on IRS.gov. For those looking to avoid the delays with a paper tax return, IRS Free File is an option. With Free File, leading tax software providers make their online products available for free as part of a 20-year partnership with the Internal Revenue Service. This year, there are eight products in English and two in Spanish. IRS Free File is available to any person or family who earned $73,000 or less in 2021. Qualified taxpayers can also find free one-on-one tax preparation help around the nation through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs.
