Did you know this? (IRS information)

[DYLAN150]

A friend of mind told me yesterday that since I am getting a Tax refund I do not have to file by April 15th?
I was thinking he was wrong but it seem's he is correct. What do you think? I just find this interesting.




The current law is you have three years to file for a refund and after that you forfeit it to the IRS. The IRS does not charge penalties to people that are owed refunds even if they are filing after due date (usually April 15). Just make sure you file within the 3 years.

[tobee43]

actually the truth of the matter is this...

the irs can't give a darn as long as you don't owe THEM ....the only time they really care is when YOU OWE them!!

think about it...some people really use their tax refund as their savings ...NOT a good idea, however, for many they look forward to the money yearly. what they really should be doing is changing their dependent/exemption status and use that money through out the year as opposed to letting the government hold it getting no interest for you. most or many are not disciplined enough to "save" by taking the amount the irs overage is, and putting it away in a savings.


my point is this if they owe you it doesn't really matter. but it's good to be on time anyway.

[LadyInTheRed]

Whether or not you owe tax, you can get an automatic 6 month extension by filing IRS form 4868 by mail or electronically. If you owe tax and get an extension, you still have to pay the tax by April 15 to avoid late payment penalties and interest.

If you don't file on time or get an extension, you may have a late filing penalty deducted from your refund. Years ago, my BIL didn't file his return because he had a $10 refund and he didn't think it was worth filing. He got a notice from the IRS telling him he had to file his return. He ended up having to pay more than $10 in penalites.

[tobee43]

very true lady.

while most individuals should file a tax return by april 15th of each year to the irs. if an individual owes taxes and misses the deadline, the irs can impose various penalties.if an individual does not owe taxes or is entitled to a refund, missing the deadline may still be a problem, or come back to haunt you at a later time. the United States Code sets forth civil and criminal penalties for those who do not file tax returns on time. the Internal Revenue Code section 6651 allows the irs to impose a penalty of 5% of the taxes that would have been due on the tax return for every month the tax return is late, to be capped at 25%. this is a civil penalty and may be imposed whether or not the failure to file was willful or fraudulent. if it is found that a failure to file is fraudulent, the penalty will increase to 15% of the tax for each month, and can be as high as 75% of the total tax.

again it's best to just file on time.

section 7203 provides criminal penalties for those who willfully fail to either file their tax return or pay their taxes on time. in addition to the civil penalties, the taxpayer may be found guilty of a misdemeanor and may be fined up to $25,000 and/or sentenced to prison for up to one year.

suggestions: FILE ON TIME!

[DYLAN150]

Here is an article about not filing and due a refund.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/03/16/claim-your-2009-tax-refund-before-it-disappears/

[tobee43]

good one DYLAN150

that's my understanding as well. the only problem would arise when one believes that should have a refund and the their return is checked by the irs and they owe rather than are getting a refund. that's where the trouble may be if you don't file. i have seen people who got refunds and at a later date were audited by the irs and ended up owning with penalties, even tho they did receive a refund for that year. it might be ok for those that want to forgo their refunds, but scary when and if their return gets scrutinized by the irs and they really end up owing.

[LadyInTheRed]

Here is an article about not filing and due a refund.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/03/...it-disappears/

Interesting. The rules about penalties must have changed since the 80s.

[sbatman]

I filed three years in arrears back in the 90's and the USgovt paid me interest on my refunds. I've filed late just about every year (after the October 15th extension date), knowing that I'm lending money to the govt while I procrastinate.

[tobee43]

Interesting. The rules about penalties must have changed since the 80s.

not really, there is really been no change in that tax code. my other half use to go to college 1/2 the year and sale merchant ships the other. he never filed taxes and was always owed money from the irs...well let's just say before the 80's. there must have been some type of error in the figures of your BIL about that $10. i have seen literary hundreds of people that the firm i use to work with made them catch up with their taxes and none got penalties unless THEY owned. i'm still active in the tax law field and see no change.


again, it still doesn't matter, it's best to get them done timely.

[tobee43]

correction! was always OWED money from the irs...not TO the irs.

anyone giving typing classes soon! i am the worse!

[GoingDown]

Question: if you were owed a refund, why wouldn't you file as soon as possible? Why would you want to wait?

[tobee43]

ok well, this is now an entire different story ...don't care what anyone says or what is written.....


we did our return. we always get a refund and i'm so anal it's usually completed in feb. we usually get our refund in about 10 days. now, i have to admit last year i wasn't paying much attention during tax time due to my dh being so ill, but i managed to file and it all went smooth...i know we got a nice return..........so i thought.

my accountant submitted our return march 1 this year, i'm waiting and waiting and waiting because this year it's really a nice piece of change, well nothing came. so i check the irs site and it says they have it, i wait a week and they still have it and so i check yesterday and now it's like CALL US NOW...OMG!! first i call my accountant and leave him a message, i know he's really busy this time of year and i know he calls me back asap because we use to work together for years and he's a close friend.

i called the irs, i get the nicest guy ever, i mean really nice. he checks and says oh, we never got your return last year. i'm like WHAT it was filed electronically and i must have gotten that nice big refund didn't i. he said nope...OMG...he said we have all your records we keep from 2006 to present and you are always like clockwork and he says i see you always file electronically. i said i do and i have a copy of them right here. he said i'm telling you we never got them and you need to call your accountant and have him e file asap so we can release your refund and we will also give you a refund from last year as well...(i mean how could i have NOT notice i didn't get that big check last year?...i know my dh was really ill, but this was not a little amount, but i guess i did miss it). so i get off the phone and called my accountant and he's says NO ******in wayyyyyyy!!! i said yeap!!!! he says i don't think i can e file ...but hold on lets try. so he re- entered all the info and he clicks the old button and he says NO ********in wayyyyy!!! it went.

but we will not know until tomorrow if it was accepted.

moral of the story, it doesn't matter if you DO actually have money coming the IRS wants you to file on time. i wonder if i'll get interest? you think?

only me.........

[GoingDown]

Oh that is amazing. You were so distracted that you forgot about it.

I usually file in January using the old fashioned paper form and sending it in the mail, and then 4 weeks later I order a tax transcript from the I.R.S. and I use that for various government programs and clinics, etc.

[tobee43]

i would filed eariler, but we have to wait on others to get us our tax info. since we stepped back into the market place we have to wait for all the 1099's although everything we have done so far is tax exempt, i still like to have everything and some of these places are SLOW.

today i will find out whether the irs accepted our 2011 electronically...shoot i hope so, or this is going to be a long drawn out this. now my accountant thinks he may not have "pressed" the button when he submitted. who knows. just fix it! lol

[BarkingCat]

Wow! That's wild, tobee! My accountant emailed me the electronic "we got your e-filed return" receipt from IRS this year. Can't remember if she's done that in years past.