Tax Day for Citizens Abroad is Coming Up!

Everyone knows Tax Day is in April. Well, unless you get an extension of time to file with Form 4868, that is.

But did you know some Americans automatically receive a two-month extension each year, making their tax day June 15th instead? And unlike the Form 4868 extension, those who receive this extension also have the extra two months to pay any taxes owed. Unfortunately, though, this isn’t something just anyone can apply for: it can only be used by U.S. citizens and residents abroad.

Those who are eligible for this two-month extension include

• Those living outside the United States and Puerto Rico whose main place of business is also outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico and
• Those in the military or naval service who are on duty outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
• If you’re serving in a combat zone or qualified hazardous duty area, see this IRS publication for more info on deadline extensions for your taxes.

If you’re married and filing a joint return, either you or your spouse can qualify for this extension and receive more time to file. However, if you file separately, only the spouse who qualifies for the extension may get two more months to file.

So if the above conditions apply to you, your personal tax deadline is June 15, 2017, for the 2016 tax year. To avoid any confusion or late fees, attach a statement to your return explaining which situation qualifies you for the extension.

You can find more info about this extended tax day deadline here! And be sure to stay tuned with ExpressIRSForms for all your tax-filing information!

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Warning: Don't Lose These Tax Documents After You File

Heads up, taxpayers: today’s the last day to file your personal income taxes (unless you’re in Maine and Massachusetts, you lucky ducks have until tomorrow). So before we continue, if you think you need some more time to file, head on over to www.ExpressExtension.com really quick and e-file Form 4868 for a six-month extension.

*Jeopardy theme music*

Alright, glad to have you back. Now, onto the subject of the day here at ExpressIRSForms: tax document retention. In other words, what tax records should you keep - and how long should you keep them - after you file?

Generally, taxpayers need to keep a copy of their tax returns and supporting documents for at least three years after the filing year. The IRS recommends this three-year retention period because that’s how long they have to initiate an audit of that tax year (that’s also how long you have to amend that return). But keep in mind that they have six years to initiate an audit in cases of fraud. If you’re already playing fast and loose with the IRS, it’s unlikely you’ll keep the paperwork lying around; but if you do, that’s how long you should.

“Enrolled agents say keep all tax records for seven years just to be safe,” said Kim Lankford, of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine in an interview with Patricia Sabatini. Even if you don’t anticipate an audit, keeping your tax documents can help you in the long run. Whether they’re helping you complete future returns, or successfully helping to contest Social Security benefits (an example Ms. Lankford sites), retained tax documents can really come in handy.

Information You Can Use on Your Next Return
Keeping previous tax records and other documents you collect throughout the year can not only help with your tax preparation time each year, but it can help save you money on your taxes. Throughout the year, make sure you hold onto documents and information relating to:

• Income from wages, dividends, interest, or business: W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, bank statements, brokerage statements, etc.
• Deductions and credits (child care expenses, dental and medical expenses, use of the home for business purposes, charitable gifts, car sales tax, alimony): receipts, invoices, mileage logs, bank/credit card statements, etc.
• Home and property: closing statements, invoices, proof of payment, insurance records, receipts for improvements
• Investments: 1099s and 2439s, brokerage statements, mutual fund statements

The Bottom Line: What to Keep for How Long
The only thing you’ll really, legally need your tax documents for is in the event of an audit. The helping-you-complete-future-returns part is just gravy. Actual tax returns, like your 1040 and its schedules, or your W-2, you should hold onto indefinitely. Everything else, follow this general timeline for document retention:

• Three years: tax return forms and schedules plus all info to support what you claimed on your return (like records related to property, investments, or business assets)
• Four years: state tax information (most states have an additional year to initiate an audit)
• Six years: W-2, 1099, etc. forms (the IRS has six years to contact you about failed reported income)
• Seven years: information regarding loss from worthless securities or bad debts

For questions on your personal tax return, we’ll try to do the best we can, but you might be better off contacting a CPA or the IRS directly (1-800-829-1040). But for e-filing your 1099s, W-2s, ACA Forms, and W-9s, we’re happy to help! Just give us a call Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST, at 1-704-83-2270, or send us an email at support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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There's Still Time to Extend Your Tax Deadline!

The 2015 tax filing deadline is just a week away: April 18, 2016 (April 19 for Maine and Massachusetts). But if you’re not ready, there’s still time to get more time!

Extension Form 4868
Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, can extend your personal filing deadline from April 18 to October 17 when filed by next Monday. You can file for an extension using Form 4868 if you usually file one of these tax return documents:
-Form 1040               -Form 1040A               -Form 1040-EZ
-Form 1040NR         -Form 1040NR-EZ      -Form 1040-PR
-Form 1040NR-SS

It’s Time to File, Not Time to Pay
The fine print on Form 4868 - and most other IRS extension forms - is that this form only offers an extension of time to file that other form you need to file, not pay the taxes you owe (if any). This means when filling out Form 4868, you’ll need to give an estimate of how much you’ll be paying back to the government, or indicate that you either don’t owe anything or are eligible for a refund. If you do owe taxes and they aren’t paid by April 18, you could be penalized and charged interest for late payments.

E-filing Form 4868
Of course, e-filing is the quickest way to submit Form 4868, but did you know that the easiest (and also best) way to e-file 4868 is with our sister product, ExpressExtension. It breaks 4868 down into easy-to-follow steps, and even allows you to pay all or part of any taxes owed before you transmit your form. Once your extension’s been approved, you’ll receive an email from us letting you know, usually within 15 minutes of filing.

Not to brag, but this email notification’s kind of a big deal. When you file 4868 directly with the IRS, they don’t send you any sort of notice that your extension request has been approved, rejected, or even received. This leaves you to either a) assume your form was accepted (and potentially face the consequences for assuming), or b) call the IRS and maybe, eventually, get in touch with someone who can tell you the status of your extension.

The Information You Need to File
Filling out Form 4868 is relatively easy as far as IRS documents go. In addition to your tax owed estimate, you’ll need to enter your name, address, and social security number. Not too bad, right? But watch out if you’re filing jointly: it can get a little confusing as you’ll need to know your spouse’s name, address, and social security number as well.

And If You Have Questions
While technically Form 4868 is ExpessExtension territory, you can still give us a call with questions regarding e-filing if you prefer! We’re available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT by live chat and phone, (704) 839-2270. Or send us an email at support@ExpressIRSForms.com. But, if you’d rather you can also call ExpressExtension at (803) 514-5155 or email them at support@ExpressExtension.com!

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Tomorrow's Another Tax Deadline...Are You Ready?

Tomorrow’s a big day for the IRS and, quite possibly, a big day for you! That’s because March 31, 2016, is the deadline for not one, not two, but three types of 2015 IRS tax forms: 1099s, W-2s, and ACA Forms.

Now, personal income tax filers of these forms - if you happen to have stumbled upon this blog - tomorrow’s not your deadline; that’s not until April 18 (April 19 in Maine and Massachusetts). Tomorrow is the deadline for businesses and other payers to complete their copies of the 1099s and W-2s and e-file them with the IRS. It’s also the deadline to have all ACA Forms 1095-B and 1095-C postmarked and sent to the appropriate recipients.

If you are a business owner and this is all news to you, well sit back and pay attention, because we’ve got a few things to go over:

What’s Due and By When?

• Form 1099: If you have to file 1099 forms (of any kind) for your payees, these must be e-filed by 11:59 p.m. (your time) on March 31, 2016.
• Form W-2: If you need to file W-2 forms for your employees, these must be e-filed by 11:59 p.m. (your time), March 31, 2016.
• ACA Forms: If you have to report health insurance coverage offered to your employees or recipients, the recipient copies must be postmarked and mailed out on March 31, 2016.

Are There Any Penalties for Filing Late?
Is the pope Catholic?

But, in some seriousness, it’s the IRS, so of course there are penalties for filing late. For 1099 and W-2 forms, depending on when you get your corrected forms filed determines your total penalty:

• $50 per form if you file correctly within 30 days of the due date, with a maximum penalty of $532,000 per year ($186,000 for small businesses)
• $100 per form if you file correctly after 30 days but before August 1, with a maximum penalty of $1,596,500 per year ($532,000 for small businesses)
• $260 per form if you file after August 1 or not at all, with a maximum penalty of $3,193,000 per year ($1,064,000 for small businesses)

You may also incur a penalty by filing your forms on paper, even if your forms are in by tomorrow. Since the paper filing deadline was February 29, any paper forms filed now are considered late, so you must e-file by March 31 to have your forms in on time. If you’ve never e-filed before, there’s no need to alert the IRS you’re doing so now.

As for the ACA forms, this year only, the IRS is forgiving any late filing penalties as long as you can prove you made every effort to file on time. Next year, you won’t be so lucky. Also, next year, this deadline will be moved back up to its original date, January 31, and your ACA forms must be e-filed by March 31 (just like the 1099s and W-2s).

What Can I Do to Make Sure I’m Not Late?
If you’re not sure you’ll be able to get your 1099s and W-2s in on time, you can e-file Form 8809 with ExpressIRSForms. Form 8809 is an IRS extension form used for 1099s, W-2s, and various other information returns. If you e-file this, you’ll get an automatic 30 day extension to e-file your forms. And if you end up not using it, you won’t be penalized for having filed one.

As for your ACA forms, just make sure to have them postmarked by tomorrow. If you don’t think you’ll be able to do that, you can have ExpressIRSForms do it! Just make sure you get in your postal mailing order by 5:00 p.m. EDT tomorrow so we can guarantee it’s postmarked on the 31st. Although the IRS won’t know these forms are late unless one of your recipients reports not having gotten theirs, it’s important to get these out sooner rather than later since your recipients need them to complete their tax returns.

What If I Have More Questions?
That’s what our friendly and helpful support team is here for! We’re here until 6:00 p.m. EDT today to answer any phone calls (704-839-2270) and chats coming in, then we’ll come back tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. and stay as late as we need to help you get your filing complete. You can also utilize our 24/7 support email by sending in your question to support@expressirsforms.com.

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E-file Form 8809 to Extend Your 1099 & W-2 Deadline

In case you hadn’t heard, the deadline to have your 1099 and W-2 Forms e-filed with the IRS is this Thursday, March 31. Now, you do have until 11:59 p.m. your time to get these forms transmitted, which means you’ve got the better part of four days to get everything done. But if that still seems like a pretty daunting task, have we got a form for you!

Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns, can be e-filed for an automatic extra 30 days to e-file your 1099 and W-2 forms. Even better: it can be e-filed through ExpressIRSForms! It’s only $2.99 to process, and if you do pull off your filing by Thursday, you won’t be penalized for having filed an extension form. Just think of it as your very own tax-filing safety net. We’ll even show you how to e-file it now:

From your Dashboard, select Start New Form. A pop-up will appear, from which you can select to File an Extension:

On the next page, you’ll enter your payer information, or the information of the person or entity applying for an extension. You can do this by selecting a payer from the drop-down menu, or manually entering your payer information and clicking Next.

On the next screen, you’ll select which forms you need to extend. In this example, I chose to extend the filing due date for my W-2 forms:

Click Next to continue to your Summary screen. From here you can review and delete and extension forms you’ve started. You can also add a new extension form for another payer by selecting the option circled below:

Once you’re satisfied with your extension(s), click Continue to view a summary of your transaction before checking out:

Click Continue, and on the next page, you’ll select a credit card you’ve already entered or enter the details for a new one to pay the processing fee to e-file your extension. Once you’ve made sure your payment is secure, click to continue to the next page.

You’ll see this summary screen before your form is transmitted. Remember: your extension form will not be sent to the IRS until you hit that big, green “Pay and Transmit” button. We’ll then keep you updated on the status of your extension via email. So long as everything goes well - and depending on IRS wait times - you could be approved for 30 extra days to file in less than 30 minutes!

If you have any questions or need help e-filing your Form 8809 extension, feel free to reach out to our support team. We’re always happy to help! You can give us a call (704-839-2270) or send us a live chat Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT. Need after hours help? Send us an email to support@ExpressIRSForms.com.

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Today's the Last Day to Extend Your Business Return

Hey, business filers! You’ve got a lot of filing going on right now, what with the 1099 and W-2 e-filing deadline at the end of the month, and, oh yeah, the business tax return deadline that’s today!

If you’ve been a little distracted (and who could blame you?) and need some more time to file your business’s tax return, then now’s the time to act. And by act, I mean head on over to our sister product’s site, www.ExpressExtension.com, to e-file a Form 7004.

Form 7004 is the business tax extension form, and it must be filed by March 15 (today) each year. Once your form’s been processed by the IRS, you’ll be granted an automatic 5- or 6-month extension to file your tax return. Specific partnerships, trusts, and estates are only eligible for a 5-month extension, but most business will see their due date extend from March 15 to September 15.

Keep in mind that Form 7004 only extends your time to file your return, not pay any taxes owed. You’ll still need to pay any taxes your business owes to the IRS by today. You can contact the IRS directly for information on setting up a payment plan at the IRS’s business tax hotline, 1-800-829-4933.

E-filing Form 7004 with ExpressExtension only takes a few minutes if you have all of your information prepared, and your extension is generally processed and accepted within an hour of filing. To file, you’ll need the name, address, and EIN of your business, which must match what the IRS has on file. Additionally, you’ll need to provide an estimate of how much you owe in taxes. A reason, however, isn’t required to get an extension of time to file.

After your extension has been processed, ExpressExtension will even send you an email letting you know whether your form was accepted or rejected. If you paper file an extension, it’s not the IRS’s policy to notify you whether or not they accepted it: best case scenario, it gets accepted, and everything proceeds as normal. On the other hand, if it gets rejected and you assumed it wouldn’t be, you’re looking at a lot of late filing penalties. So use ExpressExtension. I know we’re a little biased, but wouldn’t you rather be 100% sure of your extension’s acceptance? Plus, if it does get rejected, you can correct and retransmit your form absolutely free!

We’ll be back with your regularly scheduled 1099/W-2/ACA blogs on Wednesday, and if you have any questions in the meantime, just give us a shout! The ExpressIRSForms team is available (and can answer your extension questions as well!) to assist you live Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. EST by phone (704-839-2270) and live chat. We’re also available - although a little less “instant” - 24/7 at support@expressirsforms.com.

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