TAX RETURNS

It is that time of year again. Now that the ball has dropped on the new year, it’s time to celebrate the beginning of tax season.

In order to help get you organized and prepared for the grueling task of filing your taxes, here are some tax deductions that are often overlooked. By taking advantage of them, you have the potential to save hundreds or thousands of dollars.

If you filed for a 2010 income tax extension this year, today is the deadline to file your return. In other words, you must have your return postmarked no later than October 17, 2011 to prevent penalties this year.

Tax Returns Due Today

In preparing tax returns, some taxpayers find they have not acquired the proper documentation to submit their return by the standard April deadline to file.

Tax professionals are a very important group of people in the finance world, but not everyone who files taxes needs to hire one. Don’t waste your money paying an accountant to enter your name, address and Social Security number on your tax forms. You shouldn’t even pay them to type the numbers from your W-2 form–you can do that yourself. And here’s a secret: Most tax professionals don’t even want to spend tax season printing out Form 1040-EZs for people with very simple returns.

When You Should Use Tax Return Software Instead of an Accountant

Medical expenses have to take a pretty big bite out of your budget before you can use them to reduce your income tax liability. By the time you add up all the medical expenses you can count, however, including insurance, you may find they take more than enough of a bite to qualify.

How the 7.5 Percent “Floor” Works

A new survey released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) revealed 43 percent of consumers plan to save their tax refunds upon receipt. According to the survey, this is the fifth straight year that taxpayers have held this sentiment regarding their refunds.

Saving More of a Priority than Paying Down Debt

If you earned income in 2007 but didn’t file a tax return, you may be surprised to learn the IRS could owe you some money. According to a new announcement from the IRS, people who didn’t file in that tax year but earned income only have a few weeks to see if they’re due the $1.1 billion that’s owed.

1.1 Million People Due Tax Refunds

Those filing taxes who itemize deductions may not have to wait much longer to be able to file taxes. This is because the Internal Revenue Service just announced that those who plan to itemize will be able to submit their tax forms on Feb. 14.

IRS Needed Extra Time to Reprogram Processing Systems

After the tax reform was approved in Congress late last year, various processing systems had to be reprogrammed to accommodate changes. These changes affected those who were itemizing taxes this year and were looking for the following types of tax deductions:

By Casey Bond

Now that we’re well into January and the 15th of April looms nearer, you’re probably thinking about your taxes a lot more lately. In fact, you might be talking with your personal accountant on a regular basis about paperwork you need to mail in and forms that must be completed.

There are quite a few financial deadlines to remember over the course of 12 months and it’s probable you’ve missed one or two in the past. Are you familiar with the sense of panic that accompanies waking up on April 15th and realizing you haven’t started your taxes? Did you forget to max out your retirement account contributions last year? If you need some assistance remembering all your important 2011 budget and planning dates, here’s a quarterly calendar to keep you on track.

Q1 2011 (January-March)

Some taxpayers without bank accounts may have a way to receive tax refunds electronically in the coming weeks, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. It announced on Thursday that it plans to provide tax refunds to people without bank accounts by issuing them as credits to their debit cards.

Debit Cards Easier and Cheaper for “Unbanked”