For the most part, our tax situation remains consistent year after year. However, every now and then there are certain life transitions that can dramatically change how you file your taxes, even if just for that year. Here are some of the most common life transitions that can affect your taxes.
Getting Married
While a wedding will bring many types of joy, newlyweds can also celebrate new tax breaks. Once you are married, you and your spouse will have the benefit of filing jointly. This filing status can offer lower tax rates and a higher standard deduction. Married couples filing jointly also have extra tax perks to look forward to. For example, if you are not working, you cannot contribute to an IRA account if you are single, but you can if you are married and use your spouse’s income. You can also take advantage of flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and lower health care expenses.
Having a Baby
Having a baby, or growing your family in other ways, can significantly reduce your tax liability. Claiming dependents can grant access to new tax credits and deductions. The Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, Child and Dependent Care Credit, Adoption Credit, the Credit for Other Dependents, and higher education credits are just a few examples of credits available for those who can claim dependents.
Education Expenses
If you have recently decided to go back to school, or if you have a dependent who will be attending college soon, you might be able to take advantage of some education-related tax breaks. There are tax credits available to students to help offset qualifying expenses. Credits like the American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Leaning Credit can help. If you have already graduated and are now paying student loans, you can deduct up to $2,500 of your student loan interest during tax time.
Moving Out of State
Sometimes new opportunities come from out-of-state and moving states can affect your tax bill. Aside from moving expenses, you’ll need to figure out if you’ll be paying less or more taxes in your new state of residency. States like California and New York have much higher tax rates compared to others. Some states do not have any income tax. It’s important to factor this into your budget before you decide to make the big move.
Accepting a Promotion at Work
After properly celebrating a job well done, you might want to consider how your new role at work can affect your taxes. A bump in pay can also bump you up into a higher tax bracket, which means more taxes owed. For most, the tradeoff is worth it, but either way you should do the math to be prepared for tax season. To help offset any additional costs during tax time, you can also adjust your W-4 withholding.
Tax Help for All Life Transitions
The best thing you can do is prepare for the aftermath of each of these changes. Plan for the year ahead so you are not blindsided by a large tax bill next filing season. Optima Tax Relief is the nation’s leading tax resolution firm with over a decade of experience helping taxpayers with tough tax situations.
Now that IRS enforcement is picking back up, some taxpayers are seeing that the IRS has placed their overdue tax account with a private collection agency (PCA). CEO David King and Lead Tax Attorney Philip Hwang provide helpful tips on what collection agencies you can trust, how PCAs will notify you of your tax balance and what you can do to resolve your tax burden.
IRS enforcement has cooled in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, but the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act is equipping the agency with over $45 billion for tax enforcement. With high interest rates in place, now is an even worse time to owe the IRS. Here is an overview of back taxes and how to get rid of them.
What are back taxes?
Back taxes are unpaid taxes from a previous year. For example, if you had a tax bill of $1,000 after filing your 2021 tax return and did not pay it, you owe back taxes. Not only would you owe the $1,000, but you would also owe any penalties and interest that accrued on this tax bill. You can owe taxes by not reporting all earned income, not filing a return, or filing but failing to pay your tax bill.
What happens if I don’t pay back taxes?
Unpaid taxes will result in an IRS notice, which is a formal letter from the IRS. Typically, the notice will advise the taxpayer to pay the balance owed within 21 days. If the balance is still unpaid within 60 days, the IRS will likely proceed with collections. While the IRS is awaiting payment, the tax balance will accrue interest and penalties.
How do I get rid of back taxes?
If you do find yourself in the unfortunate situation of owing the IRS, there are some options for how to pay your back taxes. If you cannot afford to pay, you still have options. It’s important to know that there are always options and the worst thing you can do is ignore the issue.
Pay your taxes
This is the most straight-forward solution to getting rid of back taxes. If you can afford to pay off your tax balance, you should do it immediately to avoid additional penalties and interest. IRS interest rates are high right now, making your tax bill more expensive than it would’ve been in previous years. You can pay your tax bill with a credit or debit card through your online IRS account, by phone or even on the IRS mobile app. If you don’t have enough to cover the balance, you can request a short 120-day extension with the IRS. This option doesn’t stop interest or penalty fees, but it will allow more time to pay the tax debt in full. Even borrowing from your retirement fund or taking out a personal loan might be a better option than allowing your tax balance to grow.
Request an Installment Agreement
You can request an installment agreement, or a monthly payment plan, with the IRS. With this option, the 0.5% monthly penalty will be reduced to 0.25% until the balance is paid off. Interest will continue to accrue until the balance is paid. If you cannot pay your back taxes within 120 days and you owe less than $50,000, this might be the best option for you. Taxpayers should note if they do not pay according to the IRS’s set schedule, they can void the installment agreement and proceed with enforcement.
Apply for an Offer in Compromise
In some cases, the IRS may settle your tax debt for less than the amount you owe with an offer in compromise (OIC). This is understandably the most sought-after option to get rid of back taxes, but it is also rarely approved by the IRS. To qualify, taxpayers need to prove that paying off their tax debt would result in financial hardship according to IRS standards. They also need to be current on all tax returns and cannot be in bankruptcy. Applying requires an application fee, which can be waived if you are a low-income taxpayer and an initial nonrefundable payment. Your debt will also still accrue interest while your application is reviewed.
Tax Help for Taxpayers with Back Taxes
Having unpaid back taxes can cause severe stress and dealing with the IRS on your own can be intimidating and time-consuming. A knowledgeable and experienced tax professional can help you understand your options better and do the heavy lifting when trying to get rid of your back taxes. Optima Tax Relief is the nation’s leading tax resolution firm with over $1 billion in resolved tax liabilities.
The 2023 tax filing season will be different than the past few years and getting prepared early can help make the process much easier. Some of the changes expected in 2023 could affect tax bills, which in turn could affect tax refunds. Here are some tax tips for 2023.
Generally speaking, most income sources are taxable. However, there are some income types that are exempt from taxes. CEO David King and Lead Tax Attorney Philip Hwang discuss different kinds of income that may or may not get taxed and provide insight on how you can find out if your income is taxable or not.
While the Fed continues to increase interest rates, other entities are adjusting their own rates accordingly, the IRS included. In fact, the first quarter of 2023 has already seen a rise in IRS interest rates that took effect January 1, 2023. Here’s what it means for taxpayers.
Owing the IRS doesn’t just stop with your tax balance. If your tax obligations are not met, you could face penalties that can make your debt even more unmanageable. Here are some of the most common IRS penalties and how to avoid (or reduce) them.
Generally, student loan debt cancellation is considered taxable income. If you are one of the 43 million borrowers who will benefit from President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, you might be wondering how it will affect you. Here’s a quick overview of how student loan forgiveness affects your taxes.
President Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan
In August 2022, President Biden enacted a federal student loan forgiveness plan for up to $10,000 per borrower who earns less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 if you file married filing jointly. The amount increases to up to $20,000 if you received a Pell Grant while in school. Forgiveness would be applied to those who submit a simple application to verify their income through the Department of Education. Borrowers on an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan would automatically receive loan relief.
In December 2022, the Supreme Court put the plan on hold as there are multiple lawsuits challenging the lawfulness of the plan. The Court will begin reviewing the plan again in February 2023. As of now, there are tens of millions of borrowers waiting to hear if their loans will be forgiven.
How Forgiveness Affects Taxes
As mentioned, forgiven debt is usually taxable income. However, Biden’s American Rescue Plan of 2021 included a measure that exempts forgiven student debt from being taxed through 2025. This means that the forgiven debt would not be subject to federal income tax. On the other hand, there are some states that have already announced their plan to tax the debt cancellation if it is found lawful by the Supreme Court. Those states include:
Indiana
Minnesota
Mississippi
North Carolina
Wisconsin
If you live in one of the states listed above, you should plan to have your forgiven debt taxed as income. Since tax season has already begun and no debt has been cancelled, you may not have to worry about the taxation until 2024. However, this allows you greater time to plan accordingly. When the time comes, your forgiven debt will be added to your taxable income under Cancellation of Debt (COD) income. The exact amount forgiven is usually stated on Form 1099-C, so it is probably safe to assume that student loan forgiveness will work the same.
The taxes owed on the debt will depend on your income tax bracket. Indiana has a flat tax rate of 3.23% for 2022. Indiana residents may also have to pay county taxes. Minnesota’s income tax rates are graduated for 2022, ranging from 5.35% to 9.85%. Mississippi does not have state income tax on the first $5,000 of taxable income but has a flat rate of 5% for all taxable income over $10,000. North Carolina’s 2022 flat tax rate of 4.99% will result in a state tax liability for the cancelled debt. Finally, Wisconsin has a graduate tax rate ranging from 3.54% to 5.3% in 2022. Borrowers can multiply their income tax rate by the forgiven amount to find their state tax liability.
Tax Help for Student Loan Borrowers
If you live in one of the states that will tax student loan forgiveness, you can begin preparing now. The plan is still being reviewed by the Supreme Court which gives you extra time to put money aside for the extra taxes you will owe. In short, receiving up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness can result in an unexpected state tax liability. If the debt is forgiven, borrowers are allowed to opt out of receiving loan cancellation through the Department of Education. The only exception is if you are one of the 8 million borrowers who will receive automatic loan forgiveness because you are enrolled in an income-driven repayment program.
These new changes can result in a more stressful tax season. Working with a qualified and dedicated tax professional can help ease the process. Optima Tax Relief has a team of dedicated and experienced tax professionals with proven track records of success.
