3 Common Tax Misconceptions In San Antonio, Texas

The self-reporting US tax system isn’t the most straightforward of tax systems, and although the IRS does a good job at providing extensive online resources for tax payers, there are still many tax misconceptions among residents of San Antonio. As a provider of tax services in San Antonio TX, we at Defend Tax Payer consider it our duty to try to dispel some of these misconceptions in order to make tax preparation and payment easier for our customers, as well as for San Antonio residents in general. Without further ado, here are 3 common tax misconceptions in San Antonio.

The US government automatically deducts the appropriate tax from my salary, which means that my only tax-related legal obligation is to prepare FORM W-4

False. Although FORM W-4 tells your employer how much tax money to deduct from your monthly salary, the true amount of tax money you own may turn out to be by the end of the year a bit more or a bit less than the deducted sum. Filling an accurate income tax return at the end of the year is therefore required. The IRS will compare the numbers on your FORM W-4 with those on your end-of-year income tax return and decide whether it will deduct additional tax money from you, or give back a part or even all of the money initially withheld.

Everyone can use the simplified FORM 1040EZ to file for income tax

False. The IRS developed FORM 1040EZ specifically for residents of the United States. Two other categories that can use this form are permanent resident aliens and residents for tax purposes. If you are not (yet) a resident of the US, or belong to the other two categories, then you can file the 1040NR EZ form, which is more straightforward than the traditional 1040NR form and can be filled quicker. A tax consultant in San Antonio can help you do so.

If I am a graduate student and my teaching or research position as an assistant within the university pays for my tuitions and other fees, I don’t have to pay any taxes

False. According to US law, graduate assistantships are taxed. The IRS considers the tuition and other fees that are paid for you (as well as living expenses, if that is the case) as financial gain received for the work you do. If you are a student following a graduate assistantship and are not sure about your tax status, you may want to contact a tax consultant in San Antonio.

Whether you are a full-time employee, a student, or a business owner, if you are unsure about your tax status or have run into problems with the IRS, we at Defend Tax Payer have a dedicated team of experienced legal workers who can help you with professional tax services in San Antonio, TX. Visit our Services page to find out more, or call us at 866-489-1670.

13Jul, 2015

Need Innocent Spouse Relief? Here’s What You Need to Know

When you have a tax-cheating spouse, innocent spouse relief can help you stay out of trouble with the IRS. But there are certain conditions you must meet to obtain it.

When a person’s spouse has recourse to illegal activities such as not reporting income or doing improper deductions on joint tax returns, innocent spouse relief tax services in San Antonio TX can ensure that the innocent person does not pay additional tax or penalties imposed by the IRS. However, innocent tax relief isn’t the most straightforward of legal procedures; for example, there are 3 types of innocent spouse relief. This is why, if you become the tax victim of your spouse, it is important to choose a tax consultant in San Antonio who can help you.

Conditions

Before you consider applying for innocent spouse relief, you have to understand that the IRS requires that you meet certain conditions. First of all, the return you filed should have been a joint tax return, and to have included an understated tax. Furthermore, the understated tax has to be due to incorrect deductions or unreported income. If you do not meet these conditions, it will be very difficult if not impossible for any tax consultant in San Antonio to help you. However, if you are unsure about whether or not you meet these conditions, you may want to contact professional tax services in San Antonio TX and have them review your case.

Time Frame

Another important thing to keep in mind is that you must submit your innocent spouse relief application as soon as possible after the moment when the IRS requests more taxes from you than you think is normal. According to the IRS guidelines, you have two years to file your application, but of course, the sooner, the better. Your chances of obtaining innocent spouse relief will increase if you contact a tax consultant in San Antonio right away and give them the time they need to prepare a compelling case for you.

Let Us Help You

To further increase your chances of succeeding, you will want to choose an experienced tax consultant in San Antonio who deals regularly with innocent spouse relief, such as our team at Defend Tax Payer. With over 45 years of experience in the business, we are a specialized provider of tax services in San Antonio TX that knows the ins and outs of dealing with the IRS. Our records and experience give us crucial insight that we can use to ensure your application is successful. Get in touch with us and one of our tax consultants will contact you in 24 hours or less.

12May, 2015

5 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Tax Consultant in San Antonio

Hiring a tax consultant in San Antonio can be an excellent investment, one that far exceeds expectations. Discover why working with a tax consultant can save you time and money and bring you peace of mind.

“For most tax payers, a tax consultant may seem like a luxury they can’t afford, but in many cases, the costs of hiring one prove to be lower than the tax expenses they can help you save, not to mention the stress and paperwork they will spare you. Wading through tax records and filing tax returns can be a laborious and tedious business, especially if you have multiple jobs, are the owner of one or more businesses or organizations, or donate to charity. The good news is that a tax consultant San Antonio based can make your life easier. Here are some of the key reasons why you should consider hiring tax services in San Antonio, TX provided by an experienced tax consultant.

It prevents mistakes, which can turn out to be costly for you. The IRS known for its scrupulousness and, if something is wrong with your tax statement, they will find out.
Saves you time. Instead of spending dozens of hours taking care of your tax returns or trying solve on your own the tax problems you are facing, you can let a specialized tax consultant San Antonio based do the work for you. You will gain peace of mind and more time for your work and your family. There were 11,564,740 tax returns in 2015 according to IRS data; what if most of these would have been handled by tax professionals? How much faster and more accurate they would have been?
Using the services of a tax consultant in San Antonio is more effective than using a tax application or software, which can only act based on a set of pre-determined scenarios, and with which you cannot communicate. What is more, a tax specialist may be able to represent you in an audit.
Tax services in San Antonio, TX usually include planning as well, enabling you to plan months and even years ahead. This can save you a lot of time and hassle in the long term, especially if your tax situation is complex.
A skilled and experienced tax consultant can recommend you effective ways to save on taxes without getting into trouble with the IRS or complicating your financial situation. For example, a tax consultant can find significant deductions or tax credits you may have missed, helping you save hundreds or even thousands of dollars, in return for a comparably small fee.

“Finally, it’s good to know that before you hire a tax consultant in San Antonio, you should gather all your tax records and forms, as well as bank statements, and any other relevant financial documents you may have. The tax professional won’t have to do this for you, and so you can help reduce your tax services fees.

27Mar, 2015

College students and deadlines

There are many responsibilities placed on college students, one of these happens to be filing taxes. Just like every other task that a college student is given, this chore is pushed back until the last possible moment by many and then it is done in a rush.

Procrastination is one of the main ideas that a college student is known to practice. Not all will be known as procrastinators but a majority are. These college students basically turn their head at the sight of work, and will do just about anything to get away from doing busy work.

Filing taxes is one of the tedious and long paperwork procedures that is dumped on college students on top of their pile of things to get done. The fact that the process is long and confusing makes the students to push this task further and further back and the very close to the deadline. If the process were simpler, quicker, or if someone could do it with them they would be more likely to not push the deadline so far back.

Students are known to do better, learn more, and pay attention to topics more when they are guided through exercises in class. They are more likely to get it done right as well. If a college student were given a guide to how to do their taxes quickly and efficiently they would probably take advantage of it. The problem though is that they don’t know that there are tax services in San Antonio TX, tax services in Austin, and even tax consultants in Chicago and other major cities where these students re are already living in to attend their schools. There is help readily available to these students to answer questions and to guide them along the process of doing their taxes properly.

If these students got professional help the first time, and if they were show how to do it, it would probably have the same effect as some hands on classes. These students are taught to learn by doing. In the future these students would probably have less trouble filling their own taxes and the fact that they think it is not difficult may actually lead them to getting it done earlier.

High school students usually procrastinate because they don’t know how to do an assignment or because it is lengthy. If students learned how to quickly and efficiently do their own taxes from someone, then there would be no need to procrastinate. The fact that they can get these taxes done in an efficient manner might even lead to the set students learning not to procrastinate on other assignments and help them in the long run of their college careers.