ShareWare OnLine 2/ShareWare OnLine Volume 2 (CMS Software)(1993).iso/finance/ttool92.zip/REMIND.DOC

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Important Reminders

Listed below are important reminders and other items that may help you file
your 1992 tax return. Many of these items are explained in more detail later
in this publication.

Form W─2. You should receive your 1992 Form W─2, Wage and Tax Statement, by
January 31, 1993. If you have not received your Form W─2 by January 31, ask
your employer for it. If you do not receive it by February 15, call the
toll-free number for your area listed near the end of this publication. See
Chapter 5.

File one federal tax return. File only one federal tax return regardless of
the number of jobs you had, Forms W─2 you received, or states you lived in
during the year.

Expanded Form 1040A. You may be able to file Form 1040A instead of Form 1040.
Form 1040A now lets you report pension and annuity payments, taxable social
security and railroad retirement benefits, and payments from your IRA. It also
lets you claim the credit for the elderly or the disabled, claim the child and
dependent care credit, take credit for your estimated tax payments, and make
an election to apply all or part of your 1992 refund to your 1993 estimated
tax. See Chapter 1.

Tax return preparers. Choose your preparer carefully. If you pay someone to
prepare your return, the preparer is required, under the law, to sign the
return and fill in the other blanks in the Paid Preparer's area of your
return. Remember, however, that you are still responsible for the accuracy of
every item entered on your return. If there is any underpayment, you are
responsible for paying it, plus any interest and penalty that may be due.
Therefore, you should be careful to choose someone who understands tax matters
and will prepare a complete and accurate tax return.

Fast refund. If you expect a tax refund for 1992, you can have your return
filed electronically, instead of mailing it to the IRS. When you file
electronically, you will get your refund in about 3 weeks. If you have it
deposited directly into your checking or savings account, you could receive
your refund even faster. See Chapter 1.

Substitute tax forms. You cannot use your own version of a tax form unless it
meets the requirements explained in Publication 1167 for acceptable privately
designed and printed substitute tax forms. You can get Publication 1167 by
writing to the Forms Distribution Center for your state. See the Order Blank
page near the back of this publication for the address.

Check the name and social security number on your tax form. If both the name
and social security number on your tax form do not agree with your social
security card, your refund may be delayed or you may not receive credit for
your social security earnings. If your Form W─2, Form 1099, or other tax
document shows an incorrect social security number or name, notify your
employer or the form-issuing agent. If the name or number on your social
security card is incorrect, call the Social Security Administration toll free
at 1─800─SSA─1213.

Rounding off. It is easier to complete your tax return if you round off all
money amounts. This means that you drop amounts under 50 cents. For example,
$25.32 becomes $25.00. You increase amounts that are 50 cents or more to the
next dollar so that, for example, $25.50 becomes $26.00.

If you do round off, do so for all amounts on your return. However, if you
have to add two or more amounts to figure the total to enter on a line,
include cents when adding the amounts and round off only the total.

Example. You received two W─2 forms, one showing wages of $5,000.55 and one
showing wages of $18,500.73. On your return you would enter $23,501 ($5,000.55
+ $18,500.73 = $23,501.28) instead of $23,502 ($5,001 + $18,501).

Filing reminders. Before you file your return, be sure you do all of the
following.

∙  Make sure the information on all Forms W─2 you receive is correct.

∙  Put all income, deductions, credits, and tax items on the correct lines.

∙  Use the correct chart or worksheet if you take the standard deduction.

∙  Use the correct column in the Tax Table or the appropriate Tax Rate
   Schedule.

∙  Fill out Schedule SE (Form 1040) if you:

   a)  Had net earnings from self-employment of $400 or more (or Form W─2
       wages of $108.28 or more from an electing church or
       church-controlled organization), and

   b)  Earned less than $130,200 in wages subject to social security and
       Medicare tax or railroad retirement tax withholding.

∙  Check your math carefully.

∙  Sign and date your return. On a joint return both husband and wife must
   sign.

∙  If you received a tax return package with an address label, transfer the
   label to your return and make any necessary corrections to it. Use the
   label from your federal tax return package and not the one that came with
   your state tax return. Using the label helps us identify your account,
   saves processing time, and speeds refunds.

∙  Attach all Forms W─2 to your return.

∙  Attach all forms and schedules in attachment sequence number order. The
   attachment sequence number is in the upper right corner of the schedule
   or form. Attach all other statements or attachments last, even if they
   relate to another form or schedule. Do not attach these other statements
   to the related form or schedule.

∙  Attach your check or money order for the full amount you owe. Write your
   social security number, address, daytime telephone number, form number,
   and tax year on your check or money order.

∙  If an addressed envelope came with your return, use it (unless you moved
   during the year) and be sure to use enough postage.

Note. If you pay the first installment of your 1993 estimated tax at the same
time you file your 1992 return, do not send it with your return. Use a
separate check or money order and mail it in a separate envelope to the
address for your area given in the instructions for Form 1040─ES, Estimated
Tax for Individuals.

Presidential election campaign fund. You can have $1 of your tax ($2 if
married filing jointly) go to a general fund established by Congress to help
pay for Presidential election costs. See Chapter 1.

Gift to reduce the public debt. You can make a voluntary gift to reduce the
public debt. To do so, enclose a separate check, payable to Bureau of the
Public Debt, with your 1992 income tax return. See Chapter 1.

Where to file. If an addressed envelope came with your 1992 return, please use
it. If you do not have one, or if you moved during the year, mail your return
to the address listed for your area under Where to File at the end of this
publication.

File on time - even if you cannot pay. If you do not have the money to pay
the amount you owe on your return, you should file your return on time and pay
what you can. The IRS will bill you for the balance due, plus interest if the
balance is not paid by the due date. You may also have to pay a failure-to-pay
penalty.

If you do not file your return by the due date, you will have to pay interest
on the amount you owe, and you may have to pay a failure-to-pay penalty plus
interest on the penalty. You may also have to pay a failure-to-file penalty,
plus interest. See Chapter 1.

Penalties. Certain "accuracy" penalties can be imposed, including the
penalties for negligence and for substantial understatement of income tax.
Beginning in 1990, the penalties have increased for failing to provide a
social security number and for failing to file a return when the failure is
due to fraud. See Chapter 1.

Records and receipts. Do not send in records, receipts, or canceled checks
with your tax return. Keep your records available so that you can produce them
if the amounts you claim on your return are ever questioned.

You should keep records that support items of income or deductions on a return
at least until the period of limitations on the return runs out.

You should keep records that relate to the basis of property as long as they
are important in figuring the basis of the property. See Chapter 1.

Copy of return. Keep a copy of your tax return. It may be helpful in amending
a filed return or preparing future returns. You can ask the IRS for a copy of
a prior year tax return or a transcript of tax account information. See
Chapter 1.

Address change. If you move, be sure to notify the IRS using Form 8822, Change
of Address. Mail it to the Service Center where you filed your last return.
Addresses for the Service Centers are on the back of the form.

If you move after you file your return and you are expecting a refund, also
notify the post office serving your old address. This will help to forward
your check to your new address.

Refund information. Usually, you will receive your refund about 6 weeks after
filing your return. You can use Tele-Tax to find out the status of your refund
by telephone.

Refund checks. Be sure to cash your refund check soon after you receive it.
Checks not cashed within 12 months of the date of the check will be canceled.

Refund more or less than expected. If you received a check for a refund you
are not entitled to, or for an overpayment that should have been credited to
estimated tax, do not cash the check. Call the IRS toll-free number for your
area.

If you received a check for more than the refund you claimed, do not cash the
check until you receive a notice explaining the difference.

If your refund check is for less than you claimed, it should be accompanied
by an explanation. Cashing the check does not stop you from claiming an
additional amount of refund.

If you have any questions about the amount of your refund, call the IRS
toll-free number for your area.

Amended return. If you find changes in your income, deductions, or credits
after you mail your return, file Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income
Tax Return, to change the return you already filed. See Chapter 1.

Death of taxpayer. If a taxpayer died before filing a required return, the
taxpayer's personal representative (and spouse, in the case of a joint return)
must file and sign a return for that person. A personal representative can be
an executor, administrator, or anyone who is in charge of the taxpayer's
property. See Chapter 4.

Privacy Act and paperwork reduction information. The Privacy Act of 1974 and
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 say that when we ask you for information
we must tell you what our legal right is to ask for the information, why we
are asking for it, how it will be used, what could happen if we do not receive
it, and whether your response is voluntary, required to obtain a benefit, or
mandatory under the law. A complete statement on this subject can be found in
the instructions for Form 1040, Form 1040A, and Form 1040EZ.

Do you want more or less tax withheld in 1993? If your 1992 refund is large
and you want to have less tax withheld from your pay, you should get Form W─4,
Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, from your employer. Complete
Form W─4 claiming any additional allowance you are entitled to, and return the
form to your employer. If you owe tax this year, you may need to give your
employer a completed Form W─4 claiming fewer allowances or asking for an
additional amount to be withheld from each paycheck. See Chapter 5.

Estimated tax. Tax changes for 1993 may affect whether you must make estimated
tax payments and the amount of your payments. Generally, you must make
estimated tax payments if you expect to owe at least $500 and you expect your
withholding and credits to be less than the smaller of (1) 90% of the tax
shown on your 1993 return or (2) 100% of the tax shown on your 1992 return.
However, some individuals with income of more than $75,000 (more than $37,500
if married filing jointly) must make estimated payments even if their
withholding and credits are more than 100% of their 1992 tax. See Chapter 5.

Employment taxes for household employees. If you pay someone, such as a
babysitter, to work in your home, you may have to pay employment taxes. See
Chapter 33.

Acquisition of U.S. real property interest from a foreign person or firm. If
you acquire a U.S. real property interest from a foreign person or firm, you
may have to withhold income tax on the amount you pay for the property
(including cash, the fair market value of other property, and any assumed
liability). If you fail to withhold, you may be held liable for the tax,
applicable penalties, and interest. For more information, see U.S. Real
Property Interest in Publication 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens
and Foreign Corporations.

Free tax help. The IRS provides free tax information and services.
Publication 910, Guide to Free Tax Services, describes the publications and
services available to taxpayers.

Videotaped instructions. Videotaped instructions for completing your tax
return are available in either English or Spanish at participating libraries.

Information publications. Approximately 100 publications with information
about taxes are available free from the IRS.

Tele-Tax. This telephone service provides recorded tax information on about
140 topics. Tele-Tax can also tell you the status of your refund.

Walk-in help. Assistors are available in most IRS offices throughout the
country to help you prepare your own return. An assistor will explain or "walk
through" a Form 1040EZ, Form 1040A, or Form 1040 with Schedules A and B with
you and a number of other taxpayers in a group setting. To find the location
of the IRS office nearest you, look in the phone book under "United States
Government, Internal Revenue Service."

If you want help with your tax return, you should bring in your tax package,
Forms W─2 and 1099, and any other information (such as a copy of last year's
return) that will help the assistor to help you.

At most IRS offices you can also get tax forms, publications, and help with
questions about IRS notices or bills.

Telephone help. IRS representatives are available to answer your tax questions
by telephone. If, after reading the tax form instructions and IRS tax
publications, you are not sure how to fill out your return, or you have a
question about an IRS notice, please call the IRS toll-free number for your
area.

Telephone service for hearing-impaired persons. This service is available
to hearing-impaired taxpayers who have access to TDD equipment. Call
1─800─829─4059.

Information for the blind. Braille materials are available at regional
libraries for the blind and handicapped in conjunction with the Library of
Congress. These materials include Publication 17, Publication 334, Tax Guide
for Small Business, and Forms 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ and their instructions.

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly
(TCE). Free help is available in most communities to older, disabled,
non-English-speaking, and low-income people in preparing Form 1040EZ, Form
1040A, and the basic Form 1040. Call the toll-free telephone number for
your area for the location of the volunteer assistance site near you.

Written tax questions. You can send your written tax questions to your
IRS District Director. If you do not have the address, you can get it by
calling the toll-free number for your area.

Corresponding with IRS. Be sure to include your social security number in
any correspondence with IRS.

Unresolved tax problems. The Problem Resolution Program is for taxpayers who
have been unable to resolve their problems with the IRS. If you have a tax
problem you cannot clear up through normal channels, write to your local IRS
District Director or call your local IRS office and ask for Problem Resolution
assistance. Hearing-impaired taxpayers who have access to TDD equipment may
call 1─800─829─4059 to ask for help from Problem Resolution.

This office cannot change the tax law or technical decisions. But it can
help you clear up problems that resulted from previous contacts.