ROANOKE, VA – The clock is ticking on the deadline to file your federal taxes. However, if you haven’t started, there is no need to panic. You still have a little bit of time left to get everything done.
David Kembel with Kembel Tax Service said you might want to consider paying a professional to help. Kembel also said that it might not be a bad idea to consider filing for an extension. You can find that paperwork on the IRS’s website.
Filing for an extension will give you another six months to finish the paperwork. However, that doesn’t exempt you from paying. You’ll still need to send in some sort of payment by April 15. To determine what you owe this year, Kembel said to start with what you owed last year.
“That’s your starting point, and if things financially have gone better this year, then you might want to send more than that. So, whatever you owed last year, if everything is about the same, then just send that amount in. Maybe round up. There’s nothing wrong with paying a little too much and then just getting a refund later when you file,” said Kembel.
If you file for an extension for your federal taxes, Kembel said you have until October 15 to finish the paperwork.
He also said when you extend for the federal that automatically extends for the state. Virginia’s taxes are not due until May 1. So, if you file for an extension, you will have until November 1 to send in all your paperwork for the state.
If you don’t know where to start, Kembel said you want to gather all your documents first.
He said to start with last year. So, you’ll need to gather your W-2 from your job last year. If you’ve changed jobs, he said you’ll want to have that W-2 as well. He also said if you cashed out of your retirement, you’ll need that form. Then, you’ll want to get your documents together for any interest from banks or even your student loans.
It’s also important to protect yourself from people wanting to steal your information. Virginia Tech experts said some signs of scams include receiving texts, phone calls, or emails from the IRS. Experts recommend requesting a Personal Identification Number, or PIN. Never share your PIN, shred documents you no longer need and save your tax files in a secure location. They said it’s more secure to file your taxes electronically.
You might be curious about what the new tax credits are this year. They are all geared towards energy efficiency. The first one allows you to get 30% back for whatever you spend on solar panels once they are installed and working. The next one is geared towards electric and hybrid cards. You can get up to a $7,500 credit depending on the amount the car costs or how much money you make.
“And then just energy savings things in the house, in general. So windows installations, water heaters, heat pumps, HVAC systems, furnaces all those types of things. As long as they are energy efficient, they’ve got the Energy Star sticker on them or if you’re getting a new furnace or heat pump, whoever installs them for you would know if you’re getting the one that gets the credit or not,” said Kembel.