Because paying taxes is one of the most undesirable responsibilities for many people, since no one wishes to let go their hard earned money, it is unavoidable to pay taxes, and remain legal anyway!

One of the the tax questions answered free and asked most frequently is the notion that doing taxes is a complex task which cannot be done without proper knowledge. Something that unfortunately has been instilled in us practically from birth.


Sure filing taxes is an absolute nightmare for most people, but with a little preparation and the proper approach it really does not have to be that way. It is important to take note that filing taxes is a whole year process, not only in April! And I repeat, Not Only In April! Tax filing season should no longer make you stressed if you have the right options available to you regarding doing your taxes.

If possible, you want to try to organize your receipts, bills, credit card statements, etc. and perhaps other itemized (an important method that can be used to lawfully reduce the amount of payable taxes by claiming withholding allowances.) documents throughout the year so filing your taxes is not such a chore when the time comes. In the process, when you need tax questions answered free resources are usually readily available.

Another frequently asked tax question is, what amount of total income am I allowed to make before I’m obligated to file a tax return? It can vary depending on certain factors, but basically, for 2011, here is the breakdown.

The minimum amount of income you can earn, up to, before your required to file income taxes for 2011 is as follows:

Minimum Income Requirements to File a Federal Income Tax Return

The minimum income required to file or efile a tax return for Tax Year 2011 depends on your income, age, and filing status. The minimum income levels for the various filing statuses are listed in the table below. If you earned below the minimum income for your filing status, you may not be required to file a Federal Tax Return. However, there are may be reasons why you may still want to file.

For the 2011 tax year, you need to file taxes if your gross income meets the minimum income for your filing status and age:
* Filing Status Minimum Gross Income (under 65) Minimum Gross Income (65+)
* Single $9,500 – $10,950
* Head of Household $12,200 – $13,650
* Married Filing Jointly:
* Under 65 (both spouses) – $19,000
* 65 or older (one spouse) – $20,150
* 65 or older (both spouses) – $21,300
* Married Filing Separately (Any age) – $3,700
* Widow with Dependent Child $15,300 – $16,450

Social Security Income

Gross income does not include social security benefits.
The 2012 Social Security wage base will be going up for the first time in a few years. The wage base in 2012 is $110,100. It’s an increase over the 2011 Social Security wage base, which was $106,800

Once that happens, you’ll need to file a 2011 tax return. Married filing separate also have different social security rules. You may want to inquire at the AARP website for S.S help, they have a lot of informative information on this subject along with tax volunteers to help answer your questions!

* You owe Alternative Minimum Tax.
* You’re domestic labor taxes.
* You’re extra taxes on a pension plan or health savings account.
* You must repay 2008-home buyer credit (or any recapture taxes).
* You owe Social Security & Medicare taxes on unreported tip income.
* You had net self-employed earnings of four hundred dollars or more.
* You earned $ 108.28 or more from a tax-exempt church or church-controlled organization.
*You received distributions from an MSA or Health Savings Account.

Do you want to submit a tax return .. . (Although you may not be obligated to)?

There are several reasons why you might want to file or eFile a tax return even if you don’t meet minimum income requirements:
* If you had taxes withheld from your pay, you must file a tax return for a tax refund.
* If you qualify, you must file a return to receive the refundable earned income tax credit.
* If you’re claiming education credits, you must file to be refunded the American Opportunity Credit.
* If you’ve a qualifying child, but owe no tax, you can file to be reimbursed the Additional Child Tax Credit.
* If you qualify, you must submit a return to claim the first-time home buyer credit.
* If you qualify, you must file to recover the Health Coverage Tax Credit.
* If you’ve adopted a qualifying child, you must file to claim the refund on the Adoption Tax Credit.
* If you qualify, you must file for the credit for prior year minimum tax.
* If you’ve overpaid estimated tax, or use a prior year over payment of this year, you must file to receive a refund.
* If you qualify for the federal fuel tax credit, you must file to receive.

To lighten the load during the tax year and at tax time, one of the smartest approaches to take would be to hire a tax preparer, or accountant to help you manage this unavoidable task. You keep all of your records throughout the year then turn them over to your preparer/tax accountant and they will assess, compute, and e file your return for you. As well as give you a nice neat package containing copies of everything and also, once your a client, you get all your tax questions answered free in most cases!

In the case of businesses making use of a tax accountant can be even more beneficial for the fact that many business owners, especially small business, keep poor records because they believe that the bookkeeping process is to difficult or time consuming. Which can be true if you make it that way, hence the importance of keeping good records and letting someone else do the figuring!

Finally there are also a couple of other alternative solutions, firstly to file your taxes online with an Internet tax preparer and also get income tax e filing services. This method is a usually also professional, quick, easy and accurate with the exception of the hands on personal touch you get from incorporating a local business.

Secondly making use of tax preparation software’s which are home based programs you can easily download to your home computer. Software of this type is usually extremely easy to use but a word of advice, before you buy or use any kind of tax software you must inquire into and request all of your tax questions answered free to help you set up the software, based on your own personal situation. In other words, make sure that the company you purchased the software from has Excellent customer service!!

Tax software programs offer step by step instructions to make the process easier and prevent oversights, so if your a do it yourself-er and have kept track and accumulated all of the proper tax information needed to enter in to the software program, so that it will calculate things properly, then by all means try this route. But remember, THE OUTCOME WILL ONLY BE AS GOOD AS THE INFORMATION YOU FEED IT!

And I hate to say this, but if you are still working on your 2010 taxes, you obviously got behind somewhere along the way.

Good Luck, and may your return be plentiful!

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