What to do if you haven’t filed your taxes yet

The filing deadline for the 2022 tax year is April 18, 2023 This is a slight departure from previous years when the deadline was April 15 and resulted in April 15 being a Saturday and April 17 being a federal holiday, Emancipation Day, in Washington, D.C. If you live in California or parts of Alabama and Georgia, You have until October 16, 20232022-23 to file your federal taxes as a result of the winter storm.

The The IRS expects About 168 million households or individuals will file taxes this year. and according to Most recent information availableOnly 63 million returns were received till March 10, 2023. This means that most taxpayers are yet to send their returns.

If you are one of these taxpayers, don’t panic. There is still plenty of time to file your return. We’ll break down some quick ways to do this in this article.

Start filing your tax return today with TurboTax.

What to do if you haven’t filed your taxes yet

Here’s what you should keep in mind when preparing your 2022 tax return.

Take advantage of tax filing software

Filing your tax return manually can be a hassle. It can take a long time, you have to follow sometimes-complicated instructions and you must do all the calculations. Save time, stress and money by Using tax software Instead.

Sites like TurboTax, H&R Block and E-file.com walk you through your return step by step so you don’t miss a thing. Depending on how complex your tax situation is, you can be done in as little as 15 minutes.

take your time

If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, you still have four full weeks until the deadline. So don’t rush your return. Tax software checks the information you enter for possible errors, not errors. It is up to you to enter your information correctly and double check it before submitting your return.

Make sure you’ve entered all the numbers correctly, from your income to your Social Security number, and that you’ve selected the appropriate filing status. If you don’t, it could delay your refund or result in an incorrect amount. It can also trigger a tax audit, which no one wants to deal with.

Don’t forget discounts and credits

Tax software potentially covers deduction And credit you may be able to claim. But you may have the option to skip the ones you don’t think you’re eligible for It’s worth taking a few extra minutes to go through each one in case you qualify for one you didn’t expect. That said, some may be obvious to skip. If you don’t have any children, it’s pretty safe to assume you won’t qualify for the child tax credit.

Be prepared for a small return

If the return you calculated is lower than you expected, it doesn’t mean you did something wrong. Tax breaks and credits introduced during Covid are no longer in effect, so don’t count your refund as the same amount as the last few years.

So far, the average 2022 refund is 11% lower than the 2021 tax year, according to the IRS. As long as you enter your information correctly, you can rely on tax software like TurboTax to give you the correct refund amount.

Request an extension

Can do if necessary Request an extension From the IRS. Just remember that while an extension pushes back your filing deadline, it doesn’t take extra time to pay your taxes. You must pay your estimated tax debt by the April 18 deadline or you will be subject to late payment penalties and interest.

Bottom line

If you haven’t yet filed your 2022 tax return, don’t stress. You have plenty of time to do this, especially if you use tax software that simplifies the process for you.