Monday, April 15th, 2019... Tax Return Day--You Can Do This!! (and Need to most likely) Don't forget EIC, Earned Income Credit, and Education Credits among others

Good luck finishing filing your tax returns for your federal, state and in some cases city taxes (and refunds if you qualify or you have more than your taxes require.) New York is one such state that has a tax as does New York City (as in the 5 boroughts... Bronx, Staten Island, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens and maybe Yonkers but don't quote me.) On the bright side, there are credits available as well as taxes. Think of filing an extension with Tax Act or other software program. Have a notebook to jot down all of your important usernames, email, phone, passwords, Soc Security numbers (or you and your kids, others filing with you etc), license or state ID (as in NYC) number and other information,bank account routing and account numbers, basic numbers from a W-2 or 1099 such as EIN (employee identificaion number, which can vary between federal and state possibly if someone is using their Social Security number for one but has one for the other, for instance. That may not fly so well and result in a rejection when one files, so look into That Little Question Before you file if possible. Wages, social security wages or with holdings, various taxes for medicare or federal taxes would all be good to have in a short chart showing kind of number and the amount. For instance, list Wages--10,500 and so on. With NYC (and maybe State) double check but if a grandparent is being paid to care for their own grandchild, the grandparent may not need to pay self-employment wages on that amount, particularly if caring for the grandchild in the child's home. If a grandparent is caring for a child in the grandparent's home that may be different particularly if caring for other children. I am only sharing these circumstances to encourage people to get the questions rolling.

Taking time (as in a few months of research and double checking may be helpful) is important for the parents, grandparent(s) and others to understand their options, if any. Any kind of household employee or 'nanny' should get clear on their rights and obligations. Often there are federal guidelines and maybe be state and local ones to adhere to such as having workman's compensation and withholding (or not) required and taxes paid quarterly or with a penalty if not at the end of the year.

We could all use a lot more public discussion about the kinds of factors to clarify and keep track of for smoother accounting and less stress about handling finances. Even basic ideas for everyone to have a budget or spending plan with future earnings would be helpful such as on mint.com or You Need a Budget (YNAB) or from AIER.org, American Institute of Economic Resources or other reputable resources. Nothing on this livfully.org blog should be taken as professional advice. I share what I learn mainly to encourage others to look into matters and ask more questions with support and verification from a few capable resources.

Some like Turbo Tax may offer some free ways to figure things out but if you want to file with service with more than the simplest return (or even that, on some sites) then ka-ching, payment is due for federal (or maybe not) but possibly due for State (and again, usually NYC would be included in that and filed along with it.) Double check where you are sending your returns based on whether You Own Money or You are Owed Money from the government.  Make sure there is the correct address with enough postage to mail the printed out returns should that be your final way of filing.

If you e-file Be Sure it is Accepted by checking later on and the next day (if you go to bed and think you are all set.)  Generally you can send in a printed return but that needs Signing and dating (both federal as well as the state one separately...) Enoy 'Getting to Know the Ins and Outs of Filing Taxes' with help from someone able to Share Your Screen such as on google hangouts or ideally right by your side. Take time to eat and get ready to be patient, learn, practice and repeat maybe numerous times with ever growing patience, humor, prayer and treats and mini-breaks so you don't develop Tax and Computer Rage or Exhaustion, Defeat, and Feelings of Incompetency, Unfairness, Worry, Wonder and Why-Fors....

Waiting until the last few days or hours is another thing to avoid Next Year or for those starting Next Year. Gather info early, by January when W-2s arrive or 1099s. Find out how to W-2s are made so there's not such a Big Mystery about that and make sure your employer knows how to do so and will deliver in a timely fashion, generally by February 1st..and certainly by March 15th if you have room to spare. If you have a college student, a former spouse or other parent you need to share info with or get forms about college expenses, Do that Early too so credits can be received according to the guidelines. Special forms will be needed from a college or to file listing expenses and so on.

Keep in mind some colleges allow for 'tuition insurance' which is a different topic but may bring more parents peace of mind (and students who are responsible for paying their college bills.) That can cover tuition and loans that may need to be repaid that may be due if a student needs to leave before a semester is over possibly for 'approved reasons' rather than just deciding college is not for them at that time, but again I'm not sure of the details.