With the deadline for the 2021 tax season now just under a month away, WOKV’s Consumer Warrior Clark Howard is sharing a few key things to keep in mind.
Howard says the IRS offers a program that allows most taxpayers to file their taxes for free.
“It’s been a long-standing thing that about three-quarters of taxpayers qualify for and it’s called ‘Free File.’ People pay professional software developers for the software to do their taxes, prepare it, and file when they don’t have to. All you got to do, is you go to irs.gov. and you’ll see free file. And here’s the crazy thing... a lot of the companies that you’ve been paying to do your taxes for you also are available for free,” says Howard.
Howard says you also need to be on alert for tax scams.
He says one of the worst ones involves scammers filing a return with the IRS posing as you.
“They put down false information, file for a refund-- much greater than a real one-- the money’s sent to them, and then when you go to file your return, the IRS rejects it because they say you already filed. This is a messy thing and the IRS has a procedure where you can prevent it by getting what’s known as a PIN code. You just file for one with the IRS and then a crook pretending to be you won’t have that code. They won’t be able to file, but when you file you’ll have the code and your return will sail right through,” explains Howard.
In general, Howard recommends filing your taxes as early as possible to held avoid making any last-minute mistakes.
Get more consumer news and advice from Clark Howard in his latest on-demand podcasts.