As we all know, Tax Season 2018 is now in full swing. It is good to note that you can start filing your individual tax returns exactly one week from today, on January 29th. With that in mind, we want to answer the questions: Who needs to file? And why should you file?
Who is Required to File
Simply put, most people need to file. A lot of the time factors such as income, filing status, and age determine if you are required to file. There are certain rules that apply – if, for example, you are self-employed or if you are dependent of another person. Here is another example: if you are single, under 65 years of age, and your income was above $10,400 last year – you absolutely must file. The IRS itself has posted a very helpful form to help you see if you are one of the many who need to file – click here to check it out. Of course, you can always ask one of the #GoldenGirls, too.
Why You Should File
Even if you find out that you are not required to file, you should still file a tax return if you can get money back. If your employer withheld federal income tax from your pay, if you made estimated payments, or if you overpaid last year and had it applied to this year’s tax, then you should be due a refund.
A Word of Caution…
As we are in the midst of this tax season, the #GoldenGirls also wanted to give everyone a friendly reminder to please be aware of scams taking place. If anyone outside of the Gold Standard Tax & Accounting asks you via email to open any unknown documents, requests personal information, or something along those lines, please notify us right away. Your security is of our top priority. For more information about possible scams, see our previous blog posts by clicking here and here.
