44 THE QUEENS COURIER • QUEENS BUSINESS • FEBRUARY 14, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
tax guide
Save time when fi ling your taxes this holiday weekend
With a new tax law in eff ect and a
surge of tax returns expected during the
Presidents Day weekend, the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) is off ering taxpayers
several tips and various time-saving
resources to get them the help they need
quickly and easily.
Th e IRS receives more phone calls
on the day aft er Presidents Day than
on any other day of the year. Ahead of
the Presidents Day weekend, the IRS is
reminding taxpayers to “Avoid the Rush,”
detailing online options taxpayers and tax
professionals can use to get information
quickly to avoid long wait times on the
IRS toll-free hotline this week and during
the week of Feb. 19.
“IRS employees are working hard to
provide taxpayers the help they need,”
said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
“Given the high call volumes at this time
of the year, we encourage people to fi rst
visit our many online resources available
at IRS.gov. And when it comes time to
fi le, we continue to encourage people to
use e-fi le or Free File to get their refunds
as quickly as possible.”
Most tax issues can be resolved from
the convenience of a home or offi ce. Th e
IRS Services Guide links to many online
IRS services.
Here are a few featured tips to avoid
the rush:
• Use IRS.gov to track refunds. Th e IRS
issues more than nine out of 10 refunds
in less than 21 days. IRS customer service
representatives cannot answer refund
questions until aft er the 21-day period.
But taxpayers can track their refund anytime
by using the “Where’s My Refund?”
tool on IRS.gov and the IRS2Go app.
Taxpayers can also call the IRS refund
hotline at 800-829-1954.
• Use the “Where’s My Refund?” tool
starting Feb. 23 to track refunds containing
the Earned Income Tax Credit and/
or the Additional Child Tax Credit. By
law, the IRS cannot release refunds that
include EITC or ACTC. Th e earliest those
refunds will be deposited into accounts is
Feb. 27.
• Use IRS.gov to fi nd answers to tax
questions. Th e IRS off ers a variety of
online tools to help taxpayers answer
common tax questions. For example,
taxpayers can search the Interactive Tax
Assistant, Tax Topics, Frequently Asked
Questions, Tax Trails and the IRS Tax
Map to get faster answers.
• Review Publication 5307, Tax Reform
Basics for Individuals and Families, for
more information about tax reform.
• Let free tax soft ware or free volunteer
assistance do the hard work. Taxpayers
can get free tax preparation assistance
through IRS Free File, for those who want
to prepare their own returns, or through
the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
(VITA) program, for those who want a
volunteer to help prepare their returns.
• Use digital payment options if you
own additional tax. Some taxpayers may
receive a smaller refund or even owe an
unexpected tax bill when they fi le their
2018 tax return particularly if they didn’t
do a Paycheck Check Up in 2018. Use the
Paycheck Check Up to make sure you are
withholding enough tax in 2019.
• Make an appointment before visiting
an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers.
Anyone who needs face-to-face service
should make an appointment before
showing up. But, as with the toll-free
telephone calls, must TAC visits can be
resolved by searching IRS.gov.
• Call your employer fi rst for that
missing Form W. Th ose who did not
receive a Form W-2, Wage and Tax
Statement, from one or more employers
by Jan. 31 should fi rst contact the issuer to
inform them of the missing form. Th ose
who do not get a response must still fi le
on time and may need to use Form 4852,
Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax
Statement, or Form 1099R, Distributions
From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement
or Profi t-Sharing Plans, IRA’s Insurance
Contracts, etc.
A redesigned Form 1040 now takes the
place of both the Form 1040-A and Form
1040-EZ. Tax return preparation soft ware
will automatically use taxpayer’s answers
to the tax questions to complete the Form
1040 and any needed schedules.
Th roughout 2018, the IRS has been
working closely with partners in the
tax return preparation and tax soft ware
industries to prepare for tax reform and
tax form changes aff ecting tax year 2018.
Th is ongoing collaboration ensures that
taxpayers can continue to rely on the IRS,
tax professionals and tax soft ware programs
when it’s time to fi le their returns.
Taxpayers who call the IRS before and
aft er Presidents Day weekend should be
prepared for long wait times because of
the high volume of calls received on all
toll-free lines. Tuesday, Feb. 19, will be the
busiest day of the year. See Let Us Help
You for alternatives to calling and for
documents, such as prior-year tax return
information, taxpayers may need to validate
their identities.
From the Internal Revenue Service
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