Your Tax Return – Revisited
Are your taxes done? Well, I hope your tax returns (business and personal) were prepared and submitted on time. But, are your taxes “done”?
Well, they are and they aren’t. Even after you submit your tax return, you can always go back and submit another, “amended” return if there is now new information (or something that you forgot) that will impact your tax obligation. And, sometimes there are “carryovers” from previous tax years that have not been fully leveraged.
We do it for clients all the time. Sometimes it’s because they forgot to include something they didn’t think was important, and sometimes it’s because the person or firm that prepared their taxes previously wasn’t as skilled and or as knowledgeable as the tax people we have working here at Sareen and Associates, and therefore didn’t leverage the full amount of tax credits available to the business or individual. It happens. The more complex the client’s tax situation, the more likely it is that someone made a mistake or overlooked something. Sometimes that means that the client pays $100 less in taxes, and sometimes that means the client pays $100,000 less in taxes.
Here’s a link to an excellent SBA article on the subject of carryover credits, but it also works in a more general tax sense, and those in a hurry might want to just look at this list and think about whether there is a gain to be had in one of these commonly overlooked areas:
Minimum Tax Credit
Home Office Deduction
Passive Activity Losses
Foreign Tax Credits
Same-Sex Joint Filing Option
Capital Losses
General Business Credit
Net Operating Losses
Renewable Energy Credits
Investment Interest
Charitable Contributions
So, even if your taxes are “done”, they can still be done again if a seasoned tax professional spots an error or omission and its worth filing an amended return. We’ve saved a great many clients a lot of money over the years by preparing amended returns for them; if you feel you might be able to benefit from an amended return, please let us know, and we’d be happy to take a look at your previous returns.
Good information to have. If I get my taxes done again, and it turns out there was a mistake when the taxes were done the first time, how do I get the money I paid to the first tax preparer refunded? Because I think I didn’t give them all of my deductions.
Unfortunately, if the scenario you describe is accurate, you would not be due a refund for the money you paid a preparer to prepare and file your taxes. But, you may have a refund from the IRS coming to you if you file an amended return with the additional deductions.