Individual Tax Questions

When will my tax refund arrive?

• It depends on when and how you filed your tax return. You will get the money fastest – usually within 21 days – if you file electronically and have the refund deposited directly into your bank account.
• It can take much longer if you file a paper return – usually about two months, and longer if you request a paper check.

•  Only if you are self-employed. 
• Self-employed people, however, can deduct their home office expenses if they use part of their home “regularly and exclusively” for business. 
• The home office does not have to be a separate room, but it has to be an area where you don’t do anything else (so not your kitchen table). 
• If you qualify, you can deduct a portion of your rent or mortgage interest, utilities and homeowners or renters insurance, based on the percentage of your home that you use as your home office. 
• Or you can take the simplified option, which is calculated as $5 per square foot of your home office, up to 300 square feet, for a maximum deduction of $1,500.

• To claim your child as your dependent, your child must meet either the qualifying child test or the qualifying relative test:
• To meet the qualifying child test, your child must be younger than you and either younger than 19 years old or be a "student" younger than 24 years old as of the end of the calendar year.
• There is no age limit if your child is "permanently and totally disabled" or meets the qualifying relative test.

Employers use Form W-2,

• ·Report wages, tips, and other compensation paid to an employee.
• Employers furnish the Form W-2 to the employee. 

Payers use Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income or Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation to:

• Report payments made of at least $600 in the course of a trade or business to a person who's not an employee for services (Form 1099-NEC).

Yes. You have until April 15, 2022 to make tax-advantaged contributions to several kinds of accounts for 2021.

• You can contribute up to $6,000 to an 401K for 2021 or $7,000 if 50 or older. Your contributions may be tax-deductible based on your income and any retirement plan at work. 
• Or you can contribute to a Roth IRA, which is not tax-deductible but grows tax-free, if you are single and earned less than $140,000 in 2021, or $208,000 if married filing jointly.
• If you had any self-employed or freelance income, you can make tax-deductible contributions to a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) or a solo 401(k).
• You may be able to make tax-deductible contributions to a health savings account.

 Your second residence (such as a vacation home) is considered a capital asset. There for any gains/loss must be included in your tax return.

• An unmarried dependent student must file a tax return if his or her earned or unearned income exceeds the standard deduction for that year. 
• Even if you do not have to file a federal income tax return, you should file if you can get money back (for example, you had federal income tax withheld from your pay or you qualify for a refundable tax credit)

File for an extension by the tax-filing deadline. 

Otherwise, if you owe money and miss the deadline, you could get hit with late-filing penalty of up to 5% of the unpaid balance each month, up to a maximum of 25%, and a monthly penalty for failure to pay on time, which is 0.5% of the unpaid taxes. (There is no penalty if you miss the deadline and you do not owe money, but you will have to wait longer to receive your refund.)

• Most people take the standard deduction, which is much larger than it had been in the past. 
• Itemized deductions are based on certain expenses, such as charitable contributions, mortgage interest, state, and local taxes up to $10,000 per year, and medical expenses that are more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. If your itemized deductions add up to more than your standard deduction, then you can opt to itemize.

 It’s a good idea to keep your tax returns (or a digitized copy) forever. You need to keep records reporting your income, expenses and deductions for at least 6 years after the tax-filing deadline.