HR Block Preparation Checklist
What a shame it would be if you go to HR
Block or any tax preparer and you did not have all
your information ready. This could mean a delay of your refund
simply because your tax return could not be filed. So before
you run off to HR Block check out the following tax return
preparation checklist that will help you make sure you have the
basic items you may need to prepare your tax return.
- W2 Form for wage earners
- 1099 Interest if you earn interest income
- 1099 Dividends if you get dividends
- 1099 B if you sold stocks during the year and make sure
you have the cost also
- 1098 for homeowners that pay mortgage interest
- Charitable deductions
- Medical expenses
- Investment expenses
If you have a business the list is much longer and it will
depend on how your business is set up.
Refund Anticipation Loan
By Christopher
John Bennett
Many people will take advantage of refund anticipation loans
this tax season without knowing what they are and how they
work.
The way these loans work is simple; a person completes their
income tax return and submits it. A lender then issues a loan
which will be repaid using the amount of the tax refund. Large
numbers of taxpayers take out such loans every year without
realizing the risks involved.
The vast majority of refund loans are made through tax
preparation companies such as HR Block,
Liberty and Jackson Hewitt. Many of these companies operate
store front locations in poorer neighbourhoods that specialize
in making these loans to working class people. The people who
walk in to these tax pre-parers may think they are getting an
early refund when they are really taking out a loan.
The biggest risk from an anticipation loan is one that most
people don't know about. The borrower will still have to pay
off the refund anticipation loan if the IRS rejects the tax
return. The taxpayer will still owe the lender the money and
interest on the loan.
This can occur because the tax return is not official until
the International Revenue Service accepts it. A tax return is
not official when the tax prepare has completed it. All the
prepare has done is fill out the tax forms; the return is not
official until the IRS signs off on it.
This can't happen until an IRS employee has looked over the
return and approved it. That process usually occurs several
days after the tax return has been filed, even if it's been
filed electronically.
Lenders are willing to make these loans because the vast
majority of tax returns are approved by the IRS within a few
days of filing. The lenders are willing to take the risk of a
few returns being rejected because they know that they'll get
most of their money back.
The danger is that the return maybe rejected and the
taxpayer will still have to pay off a loan. This can damage an
individual's credit rating and ability to borrow money in the
future if they can't the loan. Some of the tax services will
also take unpaid anticipation loan amounts out of future tax
refunds.
This means that you should not take out a refund
anticipation loan if you don't need to. For the vast majority
of taxpayers it will be better to wait to get the money and not
take the risk of owing money to a lender.
The wait to get the refund money isn't that long because it
takes the IRS only a few days to approve tax returns. Once the
return is approved the IRS can electronically deposit the
refund amount into a bank account almost instantly at no charge
to the taxpayer.
Another advantage to not getting a refund loan is that the
taxpayer will get the full amount of the refund. When a lender
makes such a loan they take a fee out of the refund amount.
That means the taxpayer isn't getting back all the money the
government owes them. Refund anticipation loans simply are not
a good deal for most people.
Chris has been enjoying writing articles for nearly 3 years.
Come and visit his latest website over at http://www.whitemetaldetectorshome.com/ which
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