5 Things to Remember for Upcoming Tax Filing Season

The tax filing season starts on  Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, and  shall run till  Tuesday, April 18, 2017. This post is for readers to claim ceratin benefits that one can do till the end of the year i. e 31st December 2016 . Often, taxpayer miss because they forget to claim those or do certain action as per law. So here are five such reminders :

1. Donate before End of 2016

Donations to charites  are deductible in the same year , it is done. So if you want ot donante to any charity, now is the time . You can claim deduction fo such donations. Please remember , if you donate through  credit card before the end of 2016 or by  mailing a cheque before  31.12.2016 . You can get deduction even if the actual payment from credit card or cheque was after 31st Dec, 2016.

2. Change of Name or Address

If there is a mismatch between the name shown on your tax return and the SSA records , it can create problems in the processing of your return .Therefore ,if your or any dependent’s name changed for any reason, you must  notify the Social Security Administration (SSA) so the new name will match IRS and SSA records.

Similarly , in case there was a change in address , you must

• inform the US Postal Service,
• your employer and
• the IRS by mailing Form 8822
• If insurance policy was bought from Health Insurance Marketplace, you should notify the Marketplace when you move out of the area covered by their current Marketplace plan.

3. Retirement Benefits

Most workplace retirement account contributions should be made by the end of the year, but taxpayers can make 2016 IRA contributions until April 18, 2017. For 2016, the limit for a 401(k) is $18,000. For traditional and Roth IRAs, the limit is $6,500 if age 50 or older and up to $15,500 for a Simple IRA for age 50 or older.

4.Renew ITIN if Not Used for a Year

If you have not used the ITIN  at least once on a tax return in the past three years or your ITIN is having middle digits 78 or 79, then you must renew the ITIN . Please read the full post who needs to renew of ITIN immediately

5. Keep Tax Records

It will always benefit if you keep the tax records handy . A taxpayer using a software product for the first time may need their Adjusted Gross Income amount from a prior tax return to verify their identity.Therefore , having copies of tax returns is important as the IRS makes changes to protect taxpayers and authenticate their identity.