Because the Emancipation Day, which is a holiday observed in the District of  Columbia, will be observed on Friday, April 15, 2011, the IRS is extending the due date to Monday, April 18, 2011 for taxpayers to file their 2010 returns and pay taxes. By law, D.C. holidays impact tax deadlines in the same way that federal holidays do. The April 18 deadline applies to any return or payment normally due on April 15. It also applies to the deadline for requesting a tax-filing extension and for making 2010 IRA contributions.
If you are one of those last minute individuals and have not completed your tax return yet, below are some of my previous tax articles that you may find useful when filing your return:
1.Important 2010 tax Updates You Do Not Want To Miss – Some of these tax benefits have been extended and there are quite a few that were no longer valid for 2010. However, Congress have passed new tax provisions that have expanded additional tax benefits for the American people for tax year 201
2.Itemized Deduction: What Can You Deduct – Find out what items that you can deduct such as what medical expenses qualifies, expenses that you paid for your employer but you did not get a reimbursement, home mortgage interest deductions, taxes that you can deduct, how to deduct gambling losses, how to deduct casualty and theft losses, charitable donations, etc.
3.10 Deductions You Can Claim Without Itemizing – these deductions are adjustments to your gross income or items deducted to arrive at your AGI (Adjusted Gross Income). The beauty about these deductions is that you do not have to itemize in order to claim this. Another advantage to these deductions is that it lowers your AGI, thus, lowering the basis for most of the limitations applied to your itemized deductions. Please see the article, Why You Should Try To Maximize Your Above-The-Line Deductions.
4.Standard Deduction: 2010 Amount and Recent Updates – Most taxpayers who do not itemize their deduction can claim the standard deduction on their return. Usually, you would have to claim a standard deduction if you’re itemize deduction is much less than the standard. Here is a closer look of the updated 2010 amount and the recent tax law changes that may affect your 2010 Standard Deduction amount.
5.Understanding Tax Credits and the How to Claim the Most Common Tax Credits – A tax credit reduces your tax liability dollar for dollar. For example, if you make $50,000 per year and your tax liability is $6,000, a tax credit of $4,000 means that your tax liability will be reduced to $2,000. In this case, a tax credit of $4,000 generates additional refund of $4,000 to you. There are a lot of tax credits that are available such as the education credits, family-related credits, home ownership credits, energy efficient property credits, etc. that can really add huge refunds in your pocket.
6.What To Do If You Have Still Have Not Received Your W-2 – As you know, if you work for someone else, you will need to have your W-2 Â from each of your employer in order for you to prepare and file your taxes. Usually, if you already received your W-2 and misplaced it, you just need to contact your employer and they can replace the lost form by reissuing you a new one. If it has been more than a reasonable time (usually after the first week of February) and you still have not received the W-2, you can try the following steps.
7.How To Get An Extension To File Your Tax Return – Tax filing is really hectic and very stressful especially if you are filing the long form and you are still waiting for various documentations. Others may be out of the country during that time while others may have a very difficult tax return that requires thorough preparation. If you think you are not going to make the filing dateline for whatever reason, you may qualify for an extension.