April 15th is the individual tax filing deadline this year. That means for your individual tax return, you must have either filed your return or filed an extension of time to file by 11:59 PM that day.
Keep in mind that filing an extension does not extend your time to pay your taxes. It grants you six additional months to file your return, but your payment is still due on April 15th. If you owe additional tax when you file your return later in the year, you will likely owe penalties and interest on that payment.
If you are required to file a tax return for a partnership or S Corporation, the deadline to file is March 15th. You will need to file your Form 1065, Form 1120S, or file an extension by 11:59 PM that day.
If you have a C Corporation, you will be required to file on April 15th. The same extension rules apply.
Before we dive into the various forms you’re likely to receive, let’s talk about some useful items to have to prepare your taxes.
Have any tax ID numbers handy. This would include social security numbers for yourself, spouse, and dependents, and the EIN for any and all of your businesses.
Dig up last year’s tax return. While this is not strictly required for filing this year’s return, you’ll want to check the differences between this year and last. If there are significant differences that you weren’t expecting, something could be incorrect in this year’s preparation. It will also show any carryforward items that you may need to apply to this year’s return.
Most people receive a Form W2. This is a statement of wages paid to you by your employer.
Next you’ll likely have one or more of the 1099 forms.
If you were paid interest this year, you will receive Form 1099-INT. Most often these will come from your bank.
If you worked as a self-employed contractor, you will likely be issued Form 1099-NEC from anyone that paid you over $600.
If you were paid rents or royalties, you should expect a 1099-MISC.
Those of you that received unemployment compensation paid by the government should receive a 1099-G.
Taxpayers that withdraw from a tax-deferred retirement account, or rollover a retirement account balance need to be on the lookout for a Form 1099-R from their custodian. It will show the taxable portion of the transaction.
Form 1099 Composite/Consolidated will usually be provided to those with a taxable brokerage account. It will report all the taxable events from your portfolio. Typically it will include in it Forms 1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-OID, and 1099-INT. Those will report your ordinary dividends vs qualified dividends, your interest generated from your brokerage account, and any capital gains or losses among some other taxable events.
Quick note, let your tax preparer know if you completed a backdoor Roth IRA. They will need to file Form 8606 to track your Roth balance.
Next, let's finish with some ancillary forms to round out your list.
With the explosion of the sports betting industry and the accompanying apps, many taxpayers will have a W2-G that will report gambling winnings. Make sure you check your sports book app for this document.
You will need to report your pass-through entities on your individual tax return. After your Form 1065 or 1120S is filed, you'll need a copy of your Schedule K-1 to file your taxes. This form reports your share of income from the entity.
Marketplace insurance holders will need to have their Form 1095-A to report premiums paid and to settle up any premium tax credit balances.
If you had a mortgage, you'll likely be provided Form 1098. This will report mortgage interest paid, which can be an itemized deduction. In addition, be on the lookout for property tax receipts from your local government.
Gather all receipts and documents related to your charitable contributions for the year. These will also help verify your itemized deductions for the year.
If you were a victim of identity fraud and someone used your information to file a fraudulent return, you may have requested an IP PIN in the prior year. The IRS will mail you or digitally provide a 6 digit PIN that you will have to have to electronically file your taxes. Do not lose this document. There are ways to get a new copy of the number, but they are annoying. Save yourself the hassle.
This is a non-exhaustive list of things to be on the lookout for, but this should get most people through the information gathering process.
Financial Advisor