I hope you have managed to stay safe and well! We focus on resolving tax issues in Prince William County and throughout the lower Northern Virginia area.
The “2020” Tax Season has been one of the most confusing tax seasons on record. What, with possibly having to file for missing stimulus money on your 2020 tax return as a Recovery Rebate Credit, a third stimulus check started going out in the mid tax season, and to make matters more confusing, the March stimulus package includes a number of new tax breaks and credits tied to your 2020 taxes, making things extra confusing for people who had already filed their return this year. And to top it all off, the tax deadline got moved from April 15 to May 17.
All of the changes have brought up the topic of the amended tax form — a form you can file with the IRS if you discover an error after filing your returns. However, the IRS has cautioned against using the 1040X, for changes such as the additional child tax credit funds and unemployment tax breaks. So, how do you know whether or not you should file form 1040X, and amend your 2020 taxes? Here are some good reasons (additional child tax credit and unemployment tax breaks are not amongst them):
- If you are due a refund from any of the three(3) previous tax years (2017, 2018, 2019) you should file an amendment- you only have three(3) years from the original due date of returns to file for a refund
- If you find you (or your preparer) may have made an error.
If you are one of the individuals from this tax season, who is confused about certain aspects of the new legislation, or just feel as though you would at least like to discuss mitigating your tax bill and the IRS’s impact in your life. Feel free to contact us in regards to our Tax Representation/Consulting Services, as well as our potential tax planning and savings ideas.