This Monday is Tax Day. Be cautious — if you’re rushing to file, bad actors may target you.
The safe way to save your tax files from years past (do this now!)
We’re down to the eleventh hour: Tax Day is coming up on April 18. If you’re one of the millions of Americans filing electronically, watch out! A popular e-file tax site was caught spreading malware for weeks. Here’s what you need to know.
Do you keep copies of important personal documents? If not, tax season is a great time to begin.
How long should you keep tax records?
The IRS recommends keeping your returns and any supporting documentation for three years after the filing date or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. After that, the statute of limitations for an IRS audit expires.
The number goes up to six years if you do not report income that you should, and it is more than 25% of the gross income shown on your return. Important documents are not just limited to taxes. Think car titles, living wills, insurance papers, business licenses and property deeds. You get the idea.
Here are a few ways to safely keep your records.
RELATED: Preparedness tip: How to digitize your most important documents
Store critical files on your computer
Storing records locally means you know exactly where they are at any time and can access them instantly. But there are drawbacks:
- If your hard drive fails, you could lose everything.
- A hacker who gets into your computer could access those documents and learn far too much about you.
You could store everything in a removable hard drive or thumb drive and keep it in a safe place. It won’t make your data immune to hard drive corruption or house fires, but at least no one can access it when disconnected.
If you go the local route, you’ll need encryption. 7-Zip is free software that lets you encrypt and compress files. Here’s how it works:
Warning: Popular e-file tax site caught spreading malware for weeks
Filing your taxes electronically is a fast and easy way to get the dreaded chore out of the way each year. There are a number of IRS-authorized sites out there, but it seems you can’t even trust that anymore.
You’d think that an authorized site would be safe to use, but you’d be wrong.
12 tricks the IRS says every taxpayer needs to know about
Tax day is right around the corner. You have until Tuesday, April 18, 2023, to file. With the clock ticking, scammers hope to quickly find as many victims as possible. That’s why the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) urges you to remain vigilant against email and text scams to trick taxpayers about refunds or tax issues.
Get a voicemail about tax services? Don't fall for the 'Eavesdropping Scam'
Tax Day is nearing, and we hope you have everything in order by now or at least on your way there. Just because there’s a deadline doesn’t mean you should be scrambling to finish by then.
April 18 is not only the last day to file your taxes, but it’s also the deadline to claim your old tax refunds from 2018. The IRS says there are $1.5 billion in unclaimed funds, and hundreds of those dollars could be waiting for you. Tap or click here for our report and tips on claiming your refund.
True or false: The federal government is tracking payments to friends and family over $600
The deadline for filing 2021 taxes is coming up. Tax Day falls on Monday, April 18, 2022. Is your paperwork in order?
Tax deductions are not always clear-cut. You may miss an opportunity to reduce the amount of money you need to send to Uncle Sam. We went ahead and put together eight tax deductions to get you started. Tap or click here to check out our list. And there might be changes that impact you this year.
Tax filing deadline moved to July 15 - here's the best DIY software
Updated 03/20/2020 – Since everyone is preoccupied with the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. government has decided to allow more time to file taxes. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin announced the move via Twitter. Tax Day has officially been moved from April 15 to July 15 for all taxpayers and businesses. You can take this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties. (Scroll down to see the official tweet.)