Nothing is free in life!
Most of the us would like to have our taxes prepared for free, but usually nothing is ever free!
If you are preparing your taxes online through e file because you made under 60,000 it may cost you at the end in other ways, such as more taxes (you do not know all your deductions), a possibility of being audited (you did not report something correctly or used the incorrect form), your time spent on preparing something you don’t understand (tax law is complicated), and many times lots of frustration.
But if you still insist, here is some basic information to keep in mind for a basic free return:
1 – Income must be under $60,000
2 – Be sure to have all your forms in front of you and follow the software interview (if any) without skipping any sections.
3 – Understand the Affordable Care Act Tax Provisions – NEW LAW
- Reporting health insurance coverage
- Claiming an exemption from the coverage requirement.
- Making an individual shared responsibility payment.
- Claiming the premium tax credit.
- Reconciling advance payments of the premium tax credit
4 – Understand the Earned Income Tax Credit
5 – Understand the Child Tax Credit
These are the most common issues that I have found through experience that individuals may have a problem with self income tax preparation. If you have other schedules such as A,B,C, take the time to understand the law before you prepare your tax return, If not, hire a professional, it will pay for itself!
Best regards,
Sonia Narvaez, CPA