The IRS allows for late filing of federal taxes provided the appropriate paperwork is filled out (there’s always paperwork!). This simple guide shows you how to go about it.

Forms for Late Filing of Federal Taxes

The form to apply for an automatic extension of the deadline for filing federal taxes is IRS form number 4868. It is a very simple form to fill out, consisting of just nine questions. The first three questions are merely personal details such as name, address and social security number. The last two are check boxes to mark off if you are a US citizen or resident living abroad or if you file form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ, for nonresident aliens. The remaining four questions are: the estimate of the total tax liability for the year; the estimate of the total tax payments for the year; the balance remaining when you subtract the latter from the former and the amount you intend to pay. If you cannot afford to pay the entire balance, pay as much of it as you can. You can pay online using a credit card. If you choose to do this, you will get a confirmation number by e-mail, which you will also need to enter on the form.

Who Is Eligible for Late Filing of Federal Taxes?

To qualify for late filing of federal taxes, you need to be able to complete form 4868 accurately and submit it by the normal federal filing deadline. Generally, the IRS cannot extend the deadline for more than six months, but there are certain exceptions for Americans and their foreign spouses living abroad. In these cases, you can apply for an additional two months on top of the six month extension by writing a letter to the IRS Service Center in Austin, Texas explaining why you need these extra two months.

Penalties for Late Filing of Federal Taxes

Late filing of federal taxes can carry substantial penalties if you don’t get permission from the IRS first. The penalty for filing late is 5 percent of the tax shown on the form per month; and for paying late, a half percent per month, both up to a maximum of a quarter of the total tax owed. However, the IRS recognizes that some people are forced to pay late due to personal circumstances beyond their control. If this applies to you, call 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) or look in the phone book for the address of your local Taxpayer Assistance Center, to talk to an IRS official in person.

Remember you can always talk with your accountant and have them file this form for you. It is the simplest and easiest way to have the extension filed for you.

Contact Custom Tax Services for all of your Bookkeeping/Payroll/Tax needs in Utah, North Carolina or any state.

They say that the only things certain in life are death and taxes. Since we are all faced with filing our taxes year after year, it is pretty unavoidable.

If you can afford to have a Certified Public Accountant file your taxes, you’re fortunate. Maybe your taxes are complex enough that having that kind of professional help is crucial. Many who own their own business are in that sort of situation.

Many others of us can go to a local tax office – like Custom Tax Services – and have them help us with our taxes. They have computer programs that ask the right questions to get your taxes done accurately. You just have to bring in basic items, like you W2 forms and investment information. They can also submit your taxes online – making your refund (if you get one) come much quicker than mailing in a paper copy of your taxes. They make things much easier for you as well, because you do not have to know all of the complicated laws and yearly tax changes.

If your financial life is comparatively simple, you might be able to file your own taxes – it really isn’t that hard if you work for someone else and don’t have enough deductions to justify itemizing them. You can just take the standard deduction and filing your forms will be fairly simple. Gather your financial information and try it.

If you’re working on filling out your own tax forms, the IRS can help with your unanswered questions. There are other sources of tax help, but a reliable one is to ask the IRS – the ones in charge of the whole system. So, you might consider getting tax help from the IRS. In which ways do they offer help? Let’s take a look.

Online With The Internal Revenue Service

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has quite a good website. It is full of self-help features. They have all of the tax forms downloadable, as well as the instruction booklets. You can read them online or on your computer, or print them out. As for the tax forms, the IRS has helped there, too. The tax forms can be opened and completed, or saved for filling in later. The information you fill in will be saved for later, if you choose that type of form. Other forms can only be printed out for filling in manually. Most people prefer to fill the forms in online, as those can also be saved electronically for future reference when applying for education grants, etc. It is important you understand what you are filling out because this will affect your return and you are liable for all information ordered. You want to fill all forms correctly as to avoid an audit.

The IRS also has a listing of the most common questions – you may find your question is already answered there. It’s a great place to check first for accurate tax help from the IRS.

Phoning The Internal Revenue Service

If the answer to your question isn’t available online, the IRS also has a toll-free phone number you can call to ask a live body your tax questions. If the IRS gives you tax help, it should be a reliable, accurate answer. But be prepared for the long Wait times.

If you feel you would like the help of a professional feel free to Contact Custom Tax Services for all of your Bookkeeping/Payroll/Tax needs in Utah, North Carolina or any state.

There are many people who wonder if they really have to file taxes since they do not make very much money. Since taxes are so dreaded by most people, answering the question of how much money a person has to make to file taxes is an important one and is not answered in a single number. The number depends on different factors about the person’s life, such as how old they are, whether they are single or married, whether they have any children, and whether they are widowed or retired. All of these factors play into the amount of money a person has to make to file taxes.

Filing

When a person is single and under the age of sixty five years old, the individual must have made at least $9350 in order to have to file taxes for that year. If the person is over the age of sixty five before the end of the tax year, then the person will have had to make at least $10,750 in order to have to file taxes. These numbers are based on the amounts that were required for filing a 2010 tax return and will have changed slightly on the 2011 tax return, the information for which will be released in January of 2012 according to the IRS website.

When a person is married or living together with another person, and they are both under the age of sixty-five, the amount of money required to file taxes is $17,500 for filing a joint return. If one spouse is over sixty-five the number rises to $18,700, and if both are over sixty-five then it is $20,900. If they are filing a separate return at any age then the amount is $3650. If the couple is living apart at the end of 2010, then the amount is $3650 for filing a joint or a separate return.

If the individual is a head of household that has a child or relative in it, then the amount of money to file taxes is $12,050 if the head of household is under sixty-five. If they are over sixty-five then the amount is $13,450. If the person is widowed and he or she has a dependent child then the amount is $15,050 if they are under sixty-five and $16,150 if they are over sixty-five years of age. It is always important to double check these numbers with an accounting office to make sure the tax brackets have not changed for the year of 2010, as well as any other stipulations that the individual might need to be aware of in knowing how much money he has to make to file taxes.

Contact me for all of your Bookkeeping/Payroll/Tax needs in Utah, North Carolina or any state.

CHARLIE REESE’S FINAL COLUMN A GREAT READ!!!!!

Charley Reese’s Final column!

A very interesting column.. COMPLETELY NEUTRAL
Be sure to Read the Poem at the end.

Charley Reese’s final column for the Orlando Sentinel…
He has been a journalist for 49 years.
He is retiring and this is HIS LAST COLUMN.

Be sure to read the Tax List at the end.

This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be. The article below is completely neutral, neither anti-republican or democrat. Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day. It’s a short but good read. Worth the time. Worth remembering!

545 vs. 300,000,000 People
-By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House now? He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it’s because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan …

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees…

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it… is up to you.
This might be funny if it weren’t so true.
Be sure to read all the way to the end:

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he’s fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom, if agreed, stayed home to raise the kids.

Contact me for all of your Bookkeeping/Payroll/Tax needs in Utah, North Carolina or any state.

By:   Stephen Messner                                       Published: October 14, 2010

Buying a house, refinancing it, getting a loan, getting a job—they’re all dependent on your FICO credit score. It pays to learn how it’s calculated.

How are FICO credit scores computed?

FICO uses five broad categories to calculate credit scores, and each category is weighted accordingly:

Why are there three FICO credit scores?

There are three main bureaus that collect data on your credit history: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. FICO takes data from each credit bureau and runs it through its system. This leads to three different FICO credit scores because:

• Each agency may have information one or both of the others don’t have. For example, a collection agency may have reported a bad debt to only one of them.

• Errors that occur just in one agency’s data may affect that agency’s results, but not the results from the other two.

And to make it even more complex, many lenders augment their credit decisions by adding particular criteria they want to consider.

Also, although FICO is the best-known credit score, there are many others. Some lenders generate their own credit scores using data from the same three credit bureaus. Experian, in fact, has developed its own scoring system separate from FICO.

However, FICO remains the most common; when big lenders refer to your credit scores, they’re usually referring to the FICO scores.

Why can a credit check by itself reduce a FICO credit score?

FICO’s research shows that more credit shopping, resulting in more inquiries, correlates with a higher risk of future default. However, multiple queries in a short period for one purpose—such as when you’re shopping for a HELOC—would count as only one inquiry.

The FICO score ignores any mortgage, student loan, or auto loan inquiries made within the previous 30 days. The system limits itself to inquiries made in the 11 months before that, and reduces similar inquires within any 45-day window to a single inquiry. For example, if you approach five banks over two weeks on a HELOC, it will only count as one inquiry.

The inquiry formulas can get rather complex; the FICO site has more details.

How long does major negative information stay on my credit report?

Generally, the impact of adverse information on a FICO score lessens over time.

How does loan modification affect my FICO credit score?

Until November 2009, if you were in a loan modification program, your credit report likely notes that you have made only a partial payment. This significantly lowered your FICO score.

However, in modifications made since November 2009, the credit reporting system was changed to reduce the credit score hit. But as of October 2010 FICO hadn’t completely bought into this system and may at some point decide that everyone in a loan modification program, whether under new or old rules, deserves a significantly lower score.

For now, your best bet is to obtain your free credit reports, as noted later in this article, and see how your particular situation was reported and handled.

Do reductions in credit card or HELOC limits affect my credit score?

The impact will be unique for each consumer. The FICO formula considers many aspects of your balances and behaviors, including whether you have a high percentage of available credit at the time the report was pulled.

For example, if you have high debt and use a substantial proportion of your available credit, you’re at a greater risk. Opening a new credit card to increase available credit, after another card was reduced, may backfire and reduce your credit score.

Do lenders have to tell me if they’re basing a quote on my bad credit score?

New regulations taking effect in 2011 require lenders to tell you if they’re giving you a particularly high interest rate or other less favorable loan term than other borrowers who qualify for the best deals. In the past, the lenders may not have told you that you were getting an especially high rate—you were penalized without knowing it.

Starting in January, you’ll be forewarned.

Then if your credit score is lower than you expected, you can investigate it—maybe it’s just an outdated report or a simple mix-up. At least you’ll know the deal before signing on the dotted line.

But don’t wait until you apply for a loan to discover your credit is a mess. By law, you can get a free report from each agency once a year at Annualcreditreport.com. (And no, this isn’t the company advertising with the slacker band on TV.) This is the only site authorized by the Federal Trade Commission to provide free reports.

However, these reports don’t include your FICO scores. You can purchase TransUnion and Equifax FICO scores from MyFico.com for $15.95 each. (Experian continues to provide a FICO score to lenders but no longer sells its score on a retail basis.)  Some consumers will qualify for free FICO scores starting in mid-2011 or early 2012.

Contact me for all of your Bookkeeping/Payroll/Tax needs in Utah, North Carolina or any state.