Monthly Newsletter for March 2018

by in Newsletter on Feb. 28, 2018

IRS Can Help Taxpayers Get Form W-2

Most taxpayers got their Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, by the end of January. Taxpayers need their W-2s to file an accurate tax returns, as the form shows an employee’s income and taxes withheld for the year.

Taxpayers who haven’t received their W-2 by the end of February should:

  • Contact their Employer. Taxpayers should ask their current or former employer for a copy of their W-2. Be sure the employer has the correct address.
  • Call the IRS. Taxpayers who are unable to get a copy from their employer by the end of February may call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 for a substitute W-2. The IRS will send a letter to the employer on taxpayers’ behalf. When they call, taxpayers need their:
  • Name, address, Social Security number and phone number.
  • Employer’s name, address and phone number.
  • Employment dates.
  • Estimate of wages and federal income tax withheld in 2017. Use a final pay stub for these amounts.

 

 

Three Popular Tax Benefits Retroactively Renewed for 2017; IRS Ready to Accept Returns Claiming These Benefits; e-file for Fastest Refunds

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today said that it is ready to process tax year 2017 returns claiming three popular tax benefits recently renewed retroactively into law.

The Bipartisan Budget Act, enacted on Feb. 9, renewed for tax year 2017 a wide range of individual and business tax benefits that had expired at the end of 2016. The IRS has now reprogrammed its processing systems to handle the three benefits most likely to be claimed on returns filed early in the tax season.

As a result, taxpayers can now file returns claiming:

  • Exclusion from gross income of discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness (often, foreclosure-related debt forgiveness), claimed on Form 982,
  • Mortgage insurance premiums treated as qualified residence interest, generally claimed by low- and middle-income filers on Schedule A, and
  • Deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses claimed on Form 8917.

The IRS is working closely with tax professionals and the tax-preparation industry to ensure that their available software processes can now accommodate these new provisions. As always, filing electronically and choosing direct deposit is the fastest, most accurate and most convenient way to receive a tax refund. Last year, nearly 87 percent of individual returns were filed electronically and nearly 80 percent of refunds were direct deposited.