Schedule J 1040 Instructions: Fill & Download for Free

Well for one thing, you might get some money back. The reason for filing a tax return is to determine the exact amount of tax due (which cannot be determined until the year is over).When they withhold taxes out of your paycheck, those are ESTIMATES of the amount of tax you owe on the money you earned in that pay period. The point of the tax return that you file by April 15 of the following year is to settle things up.In the following, the bold text is copied directly from the 2019 IRS Form 1040 - U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.Most of the tax return is where you provide lots of details, such as any other income you received (for example, dividends and interest or prizes or lottery winnings), any deductible donations you made to charitable organizations, and so on and so forth. In some cases, additional forms and schedules are used to work out the details. Form 1040 is where all of those details are summarized (in lines 1–15). Then form 1040 determines the exact amount of tax due (on line 16):16 Add lines 14 and 15. This is your total tax . . .From that, it subtracts off the total tax that was withheld from your paychecks (on line 17):17 Federal income tax withheld from Forms W-2 and 1099 . .It then adjusts for any other taxes withheld or paid or tax credits you are due (line 18):18 Other payments and refundable credits:a Earned income credit (EIC) . . . . . . . .b Additional child tax credit. Attach Schedule 8812 . . . . . . . . .c American opportunity credit from Form 8863, line 8 . . . . . . . .d Schedule 3, line 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .e Add lines 18a through 18d. These are your total other payments and refundable credits . . . . .19 Add lines 17 and 18e. These are your total payments . . . . . . . .If the total payments and credits exceeds the total tax due, the government owes you money:20 If line 19 is more than line 16, subtract line 16 from line 19. This is the amount you overpaid . . . .(Lines 21–22 are where you provide details on how you want the money paid back to you, such as a bank account number or a mailing address)But if the total payments is less than the total tax due, you still owe additional tax to the government (line 23):23 Amount you owe. Subtract line 19 from line 16. For details on how to pay, see instructions . . . . .

The IRS will eventually catch up to you. I suggest you contact the IRS and explain you will file your returns as soon as possible! I have given you an example of a court case for non-filing returns and the consequences in penalties and interest which may result in non-filing/non-payment of your tax returns. Also, I’ve included additional information that I hope will be helpful in you filing as soon as possible.For example:Date: December 18, 2019Contact: [email protected] J. Palermo, 46, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced to 4 years of federal probation today before United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher for three counts of willful failure to file income tax returns for the 2012, 2013, and 2014 tax years. Judge Buescher also ordered that Palermo should pay a $35,000 fine along with $21,209 in restitution. As part of the probation requirement, Palermo must also complete 120 hours of community service.Palermo pleaded guilty to an Information which alleged that he willfully failed to file federal income tax returns, commonly referred to as Form 1040, for the 2012, 2013 and 2014 tax years, even though he received gross income in those years of $145,434, $220,400, and $129,612, respectively. The defendant admitted in court that he failed to file returns within the time required by law."Mr. Palermo admitted in a courtroom to willfully violating the tax laws," said Karl Stiften, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. "As we approach the filing season, it is important for people to have confidence that when they pay their taxes, their neighbors and co-workers are doing the same."IR-2019-81, April 29, 2019WASHINGTON — While the federal income tax-filing deadline has passed for most people, there are some taxpayers who have not yet filed their tax returns. The Internal Revenue Service encourages them to file now, even if they can’t pay to avoid potential penalties and interest.There are many ways the IRS offers help to taxpayers facing this situation. The IRS offers these simple tips for handling some typical after-tax-day issues:For those who didn’t file by the April deadlineThere is no penalty for filing late if a refund is due. Penalties and interest only accrue on unfiled tax returns if taxes are not paid by April 15, the tax filing deadline this year in most states. Because of local holidays, the deadline for taxpayers living in Maine or Massachusetts was April 17, 2019.Anyone who did not file and owes tax should file a tax return as soon as they can and pay as much as possible to reduce penalties and interest. IRS Free File is still available on An official website of the United States government through Oct. 15 to prepare and file returns electronically.Some taxpayers may have extra time to file their tax returns and pay any taxes due. Some disaster victims, military service members and eligible support personnel in combat zones, and U.S. citizens and resident aliens who live and work outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico, have more time to file and pay what they owe.For taxpayers whose 2018 federal income tax withholding and estimated tax payments fell short of their total tax liability for the year, the IRS provided penalty relief. This means that the IRS is now waiving the estimated tax penalty for any taxpayer who paid at least 80 percent of their total tax liability during the year through federal income tax withholding, quarterly estimated tax payments or a combination of the two.What happens to those who wait to file?Filing soon is especially important because the late-filing penalty and late-payment penalty on unpaid taxes adds up quickly under the law. Ordinarily, the failure-to-file penalty is 5 percent of the tax owed for each month or part of a month that a tax return is late; However, this penalty is reduced for any month where the failure to pay penalty also applies. The basic failure-to-pay penalty rate is generally 0.5 percent of unpaid tax owed for each month or part of a month. For more see IRS.gov/penalties.But if a return is filed more than 60 days after the April due date, the minimum penalty is either $210 or 100 percent of the unpaid tax, whichever is less. This means that if the tax due is $210 or less, the penalty is equal to the tax amount due. If the tax due is more than $210, the penalty is at least $210.In some instances, a taxpayer filing after the deadline may qualify for penalty relief. For those charged a penalty, they may contact the IRS and provide an explanation of why they were unable to file and/or pay by the due date.Additionally, taxpayers who have a history of filing and paying on time often qualify for penalty relief. A taxpayer will usually qualify if they have filed and paid timely for the past three years and meet other requirements. For more information, see the first-time penalty abatement page on An official website of the United States government.Owe taxes or need to make a payment?Taxpayers who owe taxes can view their balance, pay with IRS Direct Pay , by debit or credit card or apply online for a payment plan, including an installment agreement. Before accessing their tax account online, users must authenticate their identity through the Secure Access process. Several other electronic payment options are available on IRS.gov/payments. They are secure and easy to use. Taxpayers paying electronically receive immediate confirmation when they submit their payment. Also, with Direct Pay and the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), taxpayers can opt in to receive email notifications about their payments.‘Where’s My Refund?’Taxpayers who are due a tax refund can track it at “Where’s My Refund?,” available on An official website of the United States government, IRS2Go and by phone at 800-829-1954. To use this tool, taxpayers need the primary Social Security number on the tax return, the filing status (Single, Married Filing Jointly, etc.) and the expected refund amount. The tool updates once daily, usually overnight, so checking more frequently will not yield different results.Changing withholding?Because of the far-reaching tax changes that went into effect last year, the IRS urges all employees, including those with other sources of income, to perform a paycheck checkup. Doing so now will help avoid an unexpected year-end tax bill and possibly a penalty. The easiest way to do that is to use the Withholding Calculator, available on An official website of the United States government.Need to fix an error on a tax return?After filing their return, taxpayers may discover that they made an error or omitted something. Usually, an amended return is not necessary if a taxpayer makes a math error or neglects to attach a required form or schedule. Normally the IRS will correct the math error and notify the taxpayer by mail. Similarly, the agency will send a letter requesting any missing forms or schedules. Taxpayers can use the Interactive Tax Assistant — Should I File an Amended Return? — to see if they should file an amended return or make other changes.File an amended tax return to change the filing status or to correct income, deductions or credits shown on the originally-filed tax return. Form 1040- X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (PDF), must be filed by paper and is available on IRS.gov/forms at any time. Those expecting a refund from their original return should wait until after they receive it to file the amended return.Then use "Where's My Amended Return?" tool to track the status of an amended return. Normally, status updates are available starting three weeks after the amended return is filed. Allow up to 16 weeks for processing.Need help responding to an IRS notice or letter?An IRS notice or letter will explain the reason for the contact and give instructions on how to handle the issue. Most questions can be answered by visiting “Understanding Your Notice or IRS Letter” on An official website of the United States government. Taxpayers can call the phone number provided in the notice if they still have questions. If the issue can’t be resolved with the IRS through normal channels, contact the local Taxpayer Advocate Service office or call 877-777-4778.You may find additional information at this website: For those who missed the tax-filing deadline, IRS says file now to avoid bigger billI hope you have found this information helpful.

No, Donald Trump not releasing his tax returns will not hurt his reputation but they are in audit and should be released soon. This idea is simply a media ploy to create controversy where there is none. Isn't it strange though that no one is asking why they are in audit? Mitt Romney has gone so far as to claim that not releasing your tax return is a disqualifier for President. Hey, know what else disqualifies you from being President? Losing two national elections, but who's counting? There is no law requiring candidates to show their tax returns, but it has become common practice since Jimmy Carter became president in 1976.Also, let’s keep in mind that candidates that release multiple years of prior tax returns don’t help their credibility either. Bob Dole, Jeb Bush and John Kerry all released over 30 years of prior returns and we know how their candidacies turned out. They're the guys that reminded the teacher in school that they forgot to assign homework. But if you’re really interested in 30 years of tax returns, you can view theirs and other candidate tax returns that have been released here.It’s true that the vast majority of candidates who have run for president or vice president in the last thirty-five years have indeed released their tax returns. But it’s quite a stretch to believe that any return will contain earth shattering revelations. And the returns have passed vetting by the IRS for legality. You have to keep in mind too that public corporations, like the one’s owned by Trump, have annual reporting requirements and disclosures to their shareholders that are audited by independent public accounting firms. These have already been released to the election committee.Given all this, I’m not sure what the average public expects to learn from reviewing a large consolidated tax return. Most people don’t understand the toaster instructions for a pop tart let alone their own 1040-EZ. But assuming that someone with some knowledge reviews his return, they may look for things like gross income, tax paid, credits taken, charitable contributions made, foreign bank account reporting, etc. Here are some things we have learned in the past from Presidential tax returns:Barack Obama donated heavily to his controversial pastor, Jeremiah Wright, over several years and claiming he wasn’t paying attention in church while he was making incendiary statements. Also, at the same time Team Obama was calling 529 college savings plans “upside down,” “ineffective,” and “tilted towards the upper end,” in his 2006 book "The Audacity of Hope," Obama praised 529′s, and in 2007 actually used book earnings to make a $240,00 contribution to his own family’s 529 accounts, according to financial disclosures. With his own 529′s topped off, he tried to yank the ladder away for everyone else.Tax returns for Bill and Hillary Clinton show that Hillary received $10.5 million in 2014 for speeches alone. They also donated $3 million to the Clinton Foundation. That donation is tax-deductible because the foundation is nonprofit. This is interesting as they once promoted the narrative they were dead broke when they left the White House. Glad they are doing okay now.President George H. W. Bush’s 1991 tax returns show that he donated almost 62% of his $1.3 million income to charity in 1991. His gift recipients included the Yale Class of 1948 fund, the Desert Storm Foundation and the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.Tax Returns from Ted Cruz’s 2012 Senate race show he contributed less than 1 percent of his income to charity between 2006 and 2010 – a far cry from the 10 percent tithe most evangelical leaders believe the Bible demands. This raised a few eyebrows in the evangelical community.Bernie and Jane Sanders in 2014 were the least generous to Uncle Sam of all candidates taking advantage of all tax deductions on Schedule A and paying $27,653 federal tax on $205,271 of income - an effective rate of 13.5%. Yet, he’s advocating for tax rates as high as 90% on others that earn more.I think what we learn mostly is that all candidates do what all Americans do, try to pay as little tax as possible. This is true of Republicans and Democrats alike. It can reveal hypocrisy in championing certain policy positions while acting individually in a different manner. But the bottom line is that you are highly unlikely to find anything that will change the course of a candidate’s election. They’re just things that make you go “humm.”