Question: Is a W-2 required to file my tax return? Or can I use my last paystub from 2020?
Answer: You must have a valid Form W-2 in order to complete and file your income tax return. Your employer(s) must issue your 2020 W-2s by January 31, 2021. If you do not receive your W-2s, then contact your employer for more information.
Question: Who can I claim as a dependent?
Answer: To claim a dependent, you must not be able to be claimed as a dependent by any other taxpayer. In addition, you generally cannot claim an exemption on a dependent who is married if they file a joint return. You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, a U.S. resident, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico, for some part of the year. To be a dependent, the person must be your qualifying child or qualifying relative
Question: Is there an age limit on claiming my child as a dependent?
Answer: Age is a factor in the qualifying child test, but a qualifying relative can be any age. As long as the following tests are met, you may claim a dependency exemption for your child: 1. qualifying child or qualifying relative test 2. Dependent taxpayer test 3. Citizenship or resident test 4. Joint return test
Question: Can I receive a tax refund if I am currently making payments under an installment agreement or payment plan for a prior year’s federal taxes?
Answer: No. As a condition of your installment agreement, any refund due to you in a future year will be applied against the amount that you owe.
- The IRS will automatically apply the refund to the taxes owed.
- You must continue making your installment agreement payments as scheduled and in full because your refund is not applied toward your regular payment, and therefore any payments due under the installment agreement must still be made in full.
- Regardless of whether you are participating in an installment agreement or payment plan with the IRS, you may not get all of your refund if you owe certain past-due amounts, such as federal tax, state tax, a student loan, or child support.
Question: How do I know if I have to file quarterly individual estimated tax payments?
Answer: You must make estimated tax payments for the current tax year if both of the following apply:
- You expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for the current tax year, after subtracting your withholding and credits.
- You expect your withholding and credits to be less than the smaller of:
- 90% of the tax to be shown on your current year’s tax return, or
- 100% of the tax shown on your prior year’s tax return. (Your prior year tax return must cover all 12 months.)