Make sure your charitable contributions follow donation tax rules. They must have tax-exempt status and your donation must have been in good or better condition. It is always good to keep a receipt or record of your donations.
Do not forget to pay the 2nd half of your Roth conversion taxes. If you converted a traditional individual retirement account to a Roth IRA in 2010, a special provision allowed you to spread the taxes due on converted amounts equally over the 2011 and 2012 tax years. You should have already included the 1st half amount with your 2011 return, and now must include the 2nd half with your 2012 return.
The first-time homebuyer credit started as a $7,500 interest-free loan, changed into a true tax credit of up to $8,000 for a first-time buyer and then added a $6,500 tax credit for a previous homeowner moving up to another house. There are eligible buyer guidelines, purchase time frames, income thresholds, home price restrictions and payback requirements. A mistake here could end up costing you the credit or at least slowing down the processing of your return.
Sign and date your return, both you and your spouse if applicable. This includes electronically filing as well. The IRS won't process it if this information is missing.
The tax deadline is April 17th this year. You can file an extension for completing the return, but you there are no provisions to file an extension for any amount OWED. There is a Failure to File and a Failure to Pay penalty in these cases. It would be better to file your taxes and take steps to arrangement payment with the IRS which will allow avoidance of these additional amounts.
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