Taxes can be quite muddling and what complicates it even further is when people create certain myths and misconceptions about taxes. These make people wary of filing their returns and often they end up miscalculating or adding wrong information in their tax returns. In such matters, it is always beneficial to use the services of qualified tax professional companies like the Allan J Rolnick in Forest Hills NY to help you file your tax returns in a proper manner and on time.
Generally, the biggest misconceptions that exist are regarding the state’s refund status and people generally end up making a mistake in this regard. It is best to do away with these misconceptions to avoid being penalized by the Internal Revenue Service.
Common Misconceptions About State Tax Refunds
At times people get confused by the ever-changing state tax laws and this leads to many myths about state taxes and refunds. These common myths are as follows:
Taxpayers only pay income tax in a particular state
Most taxpayers assume that since they are from a particular state, they only have to file their state tax returns in that place. This is not true, as you are required to pay taxes even if you stayed in another place for a short time during the tax year.
This is especially true if you were working in another state or were getting some sort of income from that place. All this must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service or they will think you are not reporting all your earned income and penalize you. You should take the help of the tax preparers in Forest Hills NY to help you file your tax refunds in different states to avoid being penalized.
State taxes and federal taxes are similar
You may think that state taxes and federal taxes are filed in a similar manner and you may end up making mistakes in your tax returns. Each state has its own tax rules and regulations as well as their own particular Department of Revenue. The way you file in one state will differ depending on the policies and regulations.
Therefore, you must note all these rules and regulations before you file your tax returns. You can always use the services of tax preparers in Forest Hills NY to help you understand the different tax regulations and rules of the different states.
Keep a close check on your tax refund after an audit
The Internal Revenue Service mainly conducts audits to verify your documents for your tax returns and to clarify whether you are actually eligible for all the exemptions you have claimed. Generally, an audit is not a very complicated and long process and the auditor generally finishes it within a couple of hours.
However, this doesn’t mean that once your audit is over, you must forget about your state tax refunds. If you paid extra tax to the state then you are bound to get a refund and if after the audit you are still paying the state extra, you need to keep a check on your tax refund status. Take the help of tax preparers in Forest Hills NY to make sure you receive your refund.
No tax returns are required if there is no income tax in the state
If there are no income taxes in the state where you live, you may think you are exempt from filing your tax returns. But whether your state has income tax or not, you still will have to file your returns for the individual state tax. If you are earning income in another state, you will have to file income tax for that state as well.
Generally, you don’t have to pay state tax returns in a state just because your employer is located there. For instance if you live in New York but your employer is living in Washington, it doesn’t mean you have to pay state tax returns for Washington.
This is only applicable if your employer has withheld your taxes from his return. Then you can file a tax refund status as a non-resident of that state and get your due payments.
State tax returns need to be sorted out properly and you should always use qualified professionals like the tax preparers of Allan J Rolnick Company. These tax preparers in Forest Hills NY will help you understand your state’s rules regarding taxation.
Click on the profile below to talk to a qualified tax professional today to help sort out your tax refund status.
Allan J Rolnick, CPA, CTC
