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Sunday, February 18, 2024

New to taxes or status changed?

Here's help for tax-life changes ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 

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The Daily Money

ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Sun Feb 18 2024

 

Betty Lin-Fisher Consumer reporter

@blinfisher

Good morning. This is Betty Lin-Fisher with your Daily Money, Sunday Tax Edition.

On Sundays between now and April 15, we'll walk you through what's new and newsworthy in Tax Season 2024.

By the way, Tax Day is officially two months away. If you have questions about filing, our USA TODAY Money team hosted a Reddit AMA on Monday that covered everything from the most efficient way to file taxes to things that are considered tax write-offs. Check it out here!

Today, let's talk about first-timers – those who have never filed a tax return – and different life events, which may change how you do taxes.

Do I have to file taxes?

Who needs to file taxes, anyway?

Not everyone is required to file taxes, but most Americans must and likely will submit a return. 

Of the 176.2 million individuals and married couples who could file a return in 2020, about 144.5 million of them did, according to the nonpartisan Washington think tank, the Tax Policy Center.

Whether you need to file depends mostly on your income, filing status and age.

Find out more in this story.

5 tips for newbies

Here's a helpful story with 5 tips for newbies if this is your first time filing taxes.

Did your family grow last year?

If you added to your family during the last tax year, either by birth or adoption, your taxes will change. Filing taxes with dependents is more complicated, but you also may qualify for new tax credits and deductions.

Check out this guide, which will fill you in on all you need to know.

Working kids and taxes

Speaking of those kids, when they grow up and get their first job, they pay taxes.

But many questions come to mind: When must your kid file a return, who's responsible for filing it and what's your child's tax rate? The answers depend on the kind and amount of income your kid earns.

Find out more in this story.

Get a divorce?

If you and your spouse divorced in 2023, there are new things you'll have to do when it comes to taxes.

Taxes after divorce can be messy. Here are seven tax tips for the newly unmarried.

Death and Taxes

And even in death, we can't get away from taxes.

A death triggers estate tax and inheritance tax.

Find out the difference between the two and what you need to do with taxes after a loved-one dies.

About the Daily Money

This has been a special Sunday Tax Edition of The Daily Money. Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from USA TODAY. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you.

Know which statements to include when filing taxes this spring.

Not everyone is required by law to file a tax return. Here's how to know if you have to and why even if you don't have to, you might want to.

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Tax season stress
 

First time filing your taxes? Here are 5 tax tips for 2024

You've never filed a tax return. You're wondering if this could be the year. Here are 5 tips for first-time filers.

After giving birth, a women's body continues to shift and change, which is why new mothers should continue to have regular checkups with a provider during the recovery process.
 

2024 tax season guide for new parents: Tips about credits, deductions

Had or adopted a child in 2023? What new parents need to know about tax credits and deductions. Importantly, the enhanced Child Tax Credit went away in 2022.

How to land your first summer job
 

Your child's earnings could complicate tax season.

Do minors have to pay taxes? Learn when and how your child needs to file a return with the IRS.

17. Using tax credits     Many expenses can qualify for tax credits rather than just being deductible. While a deduction lowers your taxable income, a tax credit reduces your actual tax bill by the amount of the credit. They are meant to help middle- and low-income households. The higher the income, the less likely a person or family would qualify for tax credits. And depending on the income and status, you might qualify for just a portion. The IRS lists several credits   for individuals and families, and it is worth checking your qualification for these, especially for low- to moderate-income earners. Among the credits are the earned income tax credits, which also applied to self-employed individuals; the child and dependents care credits, which helps cover costs of daycare, for example; and credits for education and retirement saving among others.
 

Taxes can get messy after divorce. Here are tips for the newly unwed

If you and your spouse divorced in 2023, you will have to learn a new set of rules for paying taxes in 2024.

Death is certain, but what about taxes? Not always. There are many ways to whittle down those due on corporate and individual income, legal or not. By one estimate, the United States loses the equivalent of three-quarters of its federal budget deficit to unpaid taxes every year.   Tax abuse comes in two main forms: evasion and avoidance. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service   defines   tax evasion as a deliberate underpayment of taxes, a   crime that can lead to hefty fines and even prison time. This differs from tax avoidance, the practice of legally exploiting loopholes in the tax code.    In 2020, the Internal Revenue Service issued nearly 34 million income tax penalties totaling $14.1 billion  against individual and estate and trust income taxes. The largest number of censures involved failure to pay, followed by not paying enough or late payment of estimated tax. Other penalty types include delinquency, bounced checks, and inaccuracies. Interestingly, outright tax fraud made up the smallest share of the volume of IRS penalties, at just 1,330 totaling $113 million in fines.    For corporate tax evasion, the IRS issued   587,511 penalties totaling $1.43 billion in 2020, including 57 incidents of tax fraud that incurred $7.9 million in penalties. (These are    19 big companies that paid almost nothing - or nothing at all - in taxes in 2021   .)      To identify the countries losing the most to tax abuse, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed    The World's Biggest Tax Offenders   , a report published by the financial software company Tipalti. The rank is based on the losses to tax abuse as a percentage of total tax revenue collected.   These percentages range from 4.15% to 22.26%.     When it comes to tax abuse, the United States isn't on the top list of countries losing the most, even among developed nations. For   example, Germany and the United Kingdom have higher rates of tax abuse as a percentage of total tax revenue collected. Other countries with a high rate of tax abuse include Singapore and Colombia - but the worst of all is Ireland.  (These are the    countries collecting the most taxes.   )
 

Death and taxes: How estate and inheritance taxes work

Death can be a tax-triggering event. And there are two you should be aware of: the estate tax and inheritance tax.

Taxpayers are warned that their income tax refund could be smaller this year after many stimulus tax breaks ended. FILE - A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington, on May 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
 

IRS is sending out collection notices. Here's what to do.

After pausing during the pandemic, the IRS is sending out LT38 Notices for the first time in two years. Don't panic. Also don't ignore them.

Tax season 2024
 

The average tax refund is smaller in 2024. So far.

What does it mean? Maybe nothing. Tax season started later this year. The IRS has only issued 2.6M refunds so far, versus 8M at this time last year.

Tax filing season is upon us, and Americans eagerly await their refunds. The IRS got an early start on processing taxes in 2022. This year's tax season began on Jan. 24 as opposed to Feb. 12 of last year. The deadline to file taxes this year is April 18, and so far, the average refund has been higher than last year's. The IRS reports that as of March 25, the average refund was $3,263, up from $2,902 in 2021.    Kiplinger.com notes in   an article that people expecting large refunds tend to file early, so the average amount may be lower when all filings are processed. On the other hand, other factors could yet increase average refunds. For example, most taxpayers could get a boost if they did not receive their Economic Impact Payment of $1,400 or did not take advantage of the expanded child tax credit in 2021. (   Here are some common tax mistakes people make   .)    Other factors that could affect the tax refund are state-dependent. To determine the states with the largest average tax refund, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on tax filings and refunds from the Internal Revenue Service. States were ranked based on the average   income tax refund amount issued per individual income tax filing in the 2020 fiscal year.     The good news is that in all states except Oregon the average federal income tax refund exceeded $2,000 in the 2020 fiscal year. Texans scored the highest amount at $2,682.     So what will Americans do with their hefty check? In February, the    National Retail Federation    surveyed 7,929 adults about what they planned to do with their refund. Most said they will use the funds wisely, with 51% targeting the dollars for savings. Thirty-three percent plan to pay down debt. (   Here's what Americans spend their money on   .)
 

Big tax refunds: Are we cheating ourselves all year for a big payday?

Your refund is money that rightfully belonged to you all year long that the IRS has been collecting and holding.

Tax season 2024
 

Tax season is here. What you need to know about income tax

Here's what you should know about income tax, what it is, how it works, how to calculate it and which states don't have it.

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