Welcome to the tax season. What you need to know before you archive

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Monday is the first day when the IRS begins to accept and process tax returns for 2024.

So whether you are busy getting your refund or just wondering how long you can postpone the submission of your return, here is what you need to know and some tips to make your treasure a little easier.

The official IRS application and payment deadline this year is April 15, unless you:

Lives in a federally declared disaster area: For residents and businesses in such areas, the IRS typically provides extensions for both lodging and payment of income tax plus any other federal tax obligations you may have for a given period. (Specific relief messages by disaster area can be found here on the IRS website.) For example, the IRS pushed the IRS deadlines for the filing of tax and payment until 15 October for those in counties hit by the natural fires of the Los Angeles area.

Can or do not want to submit before April 15: It’s okay as long as you apply for automatic extension of six months before that date. However, that kind of extension is just an extension to submit your 2024-attachment, but not an extension to pay what you owe. If you owe money for the IRS for the tax year 2024, April 15 is still your payment deadline.

The IRS Direct File Programletting eligible taxpayers submit their taxes directly to the IRS for free is now available in 25 states, up from 12 last year when the agency piloted the program.

States are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee , Texas, Washington State, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

In addition, IRS is Partnership with certain private tax preparation software companies which will let you submit for free if you qualify. Generally, it is only for files whose adjusted gross income is $ 84,000 or less. In addition to each of the Partners from the private sector have its own justification criteria Based on factors such as age, income and state stays, but all offer “active military personnel with an AGI of $ 84,000 or less in 2024, free tax preparation and archiving using IRS Free File,” according to IRS.

Your previous year’s return will give you a good starting point to find out what documents you need to have at hand to fill your 2024 statement, said Tom O’Saben, director of tax content and government relations of the National Association of Tax Professionals.

Got married or divorced? Had a baby? Started a side concert for more income? Sold a home or other large investment? Started receiving social security or inherited IRA payments? Lost a job and charged unemployment benefit?

Large life transitions and income changes can have a direct effect on your tax liability – including the tax cuts you can take and the size of your refund – or the amount of additional taxes you need to blame.

While you may receive paper versions of 2024 tax documents, others can only be delivered electronically. So check your mailbox, your email and your relevant online accounts to make sure you have received all W2s, 1099s, donation receipts and all other forms of income tax information you need from your banks, brokers, employers, preferred Charity organizations, etc.

If you were paid for goods and services you have provided through payment apps or through online marketplaces such as Venmo, Cashapp, Airbnb and Etsy, you may get a 1099-K that reports your transactions if they together exceeded $ 5,000 for the year. (The old threshold used to be $ 20,000.)

You can also get a 1099-K if these combined transactions were smaller than that, especially if you live in Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont or Virginia, where the reporting limit is set at $ 600.

If you get a 1099 -K by mistake – e.g. Includes the form transactions that were personal – check This IRS document For some tips on how to correct the situation.

But in general, the IRS expects you to report all the 1099-K information you receive on your 2024 return. Then adjust for any errors either on that return using Schedule 1 Or via a changed return after you have filed your original within your submission deadline (which you should do to avoid fines if you owe money).

If you have purchased an electric vehicle, it is qualified for the credit for clean vehicles or used clean vehicles. Your dealer should send both you and the IRS one Form 15400, known as a report of sellers of clean vehicles. Information from it must be reported on your return to help you claim or reconcile the credit your claim to your return, according to NATP.

Separate the talk from reality about the state and local tax deduction

There is a lot of talk about increasing the state and local tax deductions. None of this applies to your tax return for 2024. Legislators may change the deduction in the future, but so far it is still limited to $ 10,000.

So if you specify your deductions or calculate if it is worth doing it – which it would be if all your specified deductions together exceed your standard deduction – then you will only be able to withdraw up to $ 10,000 for the state and local incomes, property and VAT , you paid last year.

The only real reason why most people are eager to submit their returns is if they owe a refund.

The majority of all US tax reviewers typically receive a refund that the IRS usually issues within 21 days of accepting your return. But the Agency notes on its site that if you claim an income tax deduction, IRS cannot, by law, issue the EITC-related refund by mid -February.

To track the status of your refund after you have filed, you can use the agency’s Where is my refund tool.