Tips for Filing Massachusetts Personal Income Taxes

Employers, banks, and investment firms have until the end of January to send you records such as W-2 forms and 1099-DIV statements. If you don’t receive your W-2, you should contact your employer. If you want to either reduce your taxes or increase your refund for your next return, then tax planning throughout the year is critical. In addition, when planning Get Ready For Taxes for life changing events (marriage, home purchase, career change, etc.) you should also consider the possible tax implications. The same is true for unplanned life changing events; they might have unplanned tax consequences. Line balance must be paid down to zero by February 15 each year. Year-round access may require an Emerald Savings® account.

Generally, it includes all the documents that support your income, purchases, expenses, and assets. Think along the lines of bank records, credit card receipts, canceled checks, register tapes, invoices, petty cash slips, and business travel and entertainment receipts. The IRS recommends that you keep all tax-related records for 3 years in case of an audit. However, old tax documents (such as last year’s W-2’s) can come in handy when you are filling out your current year’s tax return. An example of some of the tax records you should store from previous years (and reference for next year’s income tax return) is listed below.

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If you do not qualify to use one of the Free File software providers, you still have choices that may for work you! According to Scott, having expenses detailed, itemized, and categorized is another way you can greatly save time and hassle before tax day.

The IRS lists the specifics on its website, but generally, if you have filed a return that contains all of the income you’re required to report, keeping records for three years is sufficient. In the current calendar year, you will pay taxes on income you made in the previous year. The date on which your payments are due will depend on your company’s legal structure. If you worked during 2022 and had taxes withheld from your paycheck, you may be able to get some or all of that “over-withholding” back in your refund. Make sure you get W2 forms from all your employers and enter that information into the tax form when you fill it out. While this list isn’t exhaustive, it’s a good starting point to get organized for tax season and help you decide whether it’s feasible to file your own taxes or better to work with a tax professional. All features, services, support, prices, offers, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice.

Get clear on state-specific taxes

The sooner you open a small business account and separate your personal and business accounts, the better. “Reconciling” is just a fancy accounting term for “make sure your books match your bank records.” But doing so can save you and your bookkeeper loads of time and trouble. Online bookkeeping and tax filing powered by real humans. For many people, tax season can be a mad scramble full of document-hunting, form-filling and nail-biting. Significant changes to the tax law, like those ushered in by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, happen from time to time. But changes in most years are more subtle—mainly consisting of minor adjustments to keep up with inflation.

You can often open these accounts easily online.Learn more about the FDIC’s #GetBanked campaign. For everything you’ll need to choose the right software and prepare your return, see Get ready to e-file your income tax return. For additional tools, seeFiling season resource center for additional filing information. Before you begin to prepare your income tax return, go through the following checklist. Not every category will apply to you, so just pick those that do, and make sure you have that information available. When you’re ready to prepare your tax return using TurboTax software, you’ll be surprised at how much time you’ll save by organizing your information beforehand. Let’s face it, filing your tax returns is probably the task furthest from your mind.

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If you use a program such as Quicken® to keep track of your finances, print a report of your transactions for the tax year (e.g. 2022). This will make your tax preparation much easier, and helps you clearly see where your money goes each year. The information provided in https://turbo-tax.org/ these articles is intended for informational purposes only. It is not to be construed as the opinion of Central Bancompany, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and does not imply endorsement or support of any of the mentioned information, products, services, or providers.

• Full BioSuzanne is a content marketer, writer, and fact-checker.
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• Please check with your employer or benefits provider as they may not offer direct deposit or partial direct deposit.
• Please see the applicable program disclosure document for more information, available at /ADV or from your Financial Advisor.
• If you’re working with a tax preparer, they will need some key documentation.
• Make sure you prepare all of the necessary documents and forms with you so that we can prepare your taxes and get you your maximum refund.

The various 1099 forms that report other income you received, such as dividends (Form 1099-DIV), interest (Form 1099-INT), and nonemployee compensation paid to independent contractors (Form 1099-MISC). You should receive all the tax documents you need from your employer or employers as well as from banks, brokerage firms, and others with whom you do business by the end of January.

Keep a copy of all Forms 1099-G with your 2022 tax records and be aware that DOR may ask for an explanation of why the amount shown on the Form 1099-G was not reported on the return. If you did not receive unemployment benefits during 2022, but you did receive a Form 1099-G reporting unemployment benefits, someone may have used your identity to falsely claim unemployment benefits. EITC is a benefit for working people with low or moderate incomes. Don’t forget to sign your tax return at the bottom of Page 1.

• Keep a copy of all correspondence with the payer with your records.
• Nonresidents are not subject to the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law.
• The financial records you keep have to support the income, expenses, and credits you report and be available for the IRS to inspect.
• An example of some of the tax records you should store from previous years (and reference for next year’s income tax return) is listed below.

Students can claim a deduction for tuition and fees they paid, as well as for interest paid on a student loan. The IRS won’t accept your deduction claim without Form 1098-T, which shows your education transactions. This may influence which products we review and write about , but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research.

Check your refund

Make sure you look for receipts for medical costs not covered by insurance or reimbursed by any other health plan (such as a flexible spending account or an HSA), property taxes, and investment-related expenses. These are all subject to limits, but if they’re substantial enough, it may be worth your while to itemize.