Frequently Asked Questions

Yes you will be required to report your health care status when you file your taxes.

If you purchased health insurance in the Health Insurance Marketplace, you will see a new tax form called a Form 1095-A.  This form will have details of your insurance like date of coverage, premiums, and the amount of your advanced premium tax credit if you received one to help you pay for health insurance.

If you were uninsured in 2015 you may be required to pay a penalty of $95 or up to 1% of your income, whichever is greater, but you may also be eligible for one of over 30 exemptions from the tax penalty. Penalty and percentage subject to changes per Congress.

If you did not purchase health insurance in 2015 and paid a tax penalty you may be able to take advantage of a new special enrollment period.  Please visit the State’s health care website to find the enrollment period deadline.

The Earned Income Credit is a refundable tax credit given to taxpayers that earn low to moderate income from a job or being self-employed. Income and the number of qualifying children will determine the actual amount of the credit. For tax year 2014, the maximum credit can be as much as $6,143 for someone with three or more qualifying children.

If you’re supporting someone who lives with you, you may be able to claim him or her as a dependent. Beyond the home, if you provide over half of the support for a family member, they may also count as a dependent. This ranges from nieces and nephews to stepparents and even in-laws. For every dependent you have, you can claim a dependent exemption on your federal income tax return.

You should file a federal income tax return even if your total income is below the IRS filing requirement ($10,150 for individuals or $20,300 for married filing jointly under age 65). You need to file a tax return if you had any federal income tax withheld and especially if you’re eligible for refundable tax credits like the earned income tax credit. Every year, money is left on the table because people don’t think they need to file. The average unclaimed tax refund is close to $600, and it’s important to know that the IRS places a three-year window on claiming these past refunds.

In addition, if you make under the IRS filing requirement and may be exempt from purchasing health insurance and the tax penalty under ACA, you still have to file your taxes if you did purchase health insurance in the Health Insurance Marketplace and received an advanced premium tax credit since your actual premium tax credit gets reported on your taxes.

Like last year, the IRS expects to issue 9 out of 10 tax refunds within 21 days for those who e-filed with direct deposit. E-file with direct deposit is the fastest way to get your tax refund. For paper-filers, the process does take more time.

Once you have e-filed your tax return, you can check the status of your tax refund by using the IRS Where’s My Refund? Tool.  Our office will not have any ability to know your refund status.  We would use the same IRS tool.

Yes, unemployment income is taxable income,

Job search and moving expenses may be tax-deductible depending on distance and other factors,

Withdrawing money early (before reaching the age of 59 ½) from a retirement account comes with a 10 percent tax penalty plus regular income tax on the amount withdrawn. Watch out if that additional retirement money bumps you into the next tax bracket, which could affect Social Security taxes and other considerations.

There are a number of education credits and deductions, including the American Opportunity Credit, which was extended through 2016. It benefits full-time and part-time college students with a maximum $2,500 credit per student, based on income requirements.

Though this is a legitimate tax deduction, expenses for home office should be used exclusively and regularly for the home office, and not a space that is mixed residential and business.

Per the IRS visit the Goodwill website and download the donation valuation guide.  This is the link we use http://www.goodwill.org/donate-and-shop/donate-stuff/