IRS Tax Return - Overview

By Anne Durrell

Each time you earn income, the IRS will require you to state it as part of your income. At the end of the year, you add to your total income and declare this amount on your tax return the IRS.

Payments of tax withheld

If you work for an employer, then the tax is withheld from your gross salary prior to receiving the net and then paid to the IRS by your employer. You may also find that income tax is withheld from several other types of income you receive, such as pensions or unemployment payments.

When you fill out your IRS tax return, the amount of gross income you receive determines the amount of tax you need to pay. It is possible for some people to actively reduce the amount of gross income that is shown on your IRS tax return by claiming deductions for work-related expenses through each financial year.

Estimated Tax Payments

Self-employed people don't usually have tax withheld from their income payments. They receive their money directly from clients or customers and then are required to pay estimated tax payments.

This may be difficult for many self-employed since the amount they earn may vary widely from month to month, based on sales or sales volume.

The lack of payment of tax withheld

Every time you complete your IRS tax return, you will be asked to add the total amount of the deduction of income tax payments were paid to the IRS on your behalf by an employer, or if you paid by 'estimated tax payments throughout the year.

If the amount of tax paid is not enough to account for the amount of income you declared, then you may receive a tax bill to make up the shortfall, called a tax penalty.

Avoiding tax penalty

In fact, there are some things you can do throughout the financial year to reduce your chance of receiving a tax penalty. You can ask your employer to take a little extra tax from your salary through the year or you can make voluntary payments to the IRS through the year.

Lodging Your IRS Tax Return

Although it is possible to file your IRS tax return yourself using the secure online system, you may prefer to pay a tax agent to prepare your return for you.

The advantages of paying a professional to help you find may mean more tax deductions to help reduce your taxable income more than you could yourself.

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