Have you recently wondered, can I still file my 2019 taxes electronically or file them at all?
Now that it’s October, you may be seeing reminders
popping up online, in the news, or on TV about filing your tax returns for the
year. That’s because, just like April 15 each year, October 15 is also a tax
filing deadline.
April 15 is the annual deadline to file federal income tax
returns for the previous calendar year.
October 15 is the annual extended deadline to file federal
income tax returns for the previous calendar year.
You can file for an extension before the April 15 filing
deadline. Then, you have until the October 15 deadline to file your tax returns
before you become liable for late fees or additional interest.
With these current deadlines for 2020 taxes on the horizon, if you didn’t file a tax return for your 2019 taxes, you may be wondering if it is too late. Can I still file my 2019 taxes electronically? Or can I still file my 2019 taxes at all?
Yes, you can still file my 2019 taxes. And there are many reasons why it can be a good idea to file my 2019 taxes at this point.
While the deadline to file your 2019 taxes on time was
July 15, 2020, there is no deadline to file your prior year’s taxes. However,
there are some dates you need to be aware of if you think you are owed a tax
refund — more on that in a bit.
If you made more than the minimum gross income set by the IRS for the 2019 tax year, you could benefit from filing my 2019 tax return, even if late. This is true both if you can expect a tax refund or if you owe taxes. You can use our 2019 Tax Calculator to calculate your estimated expected tax refund or tax bill.
The minimum gross income threshold set by the IRS takes
into account four different factors:
if you are claimed
as a dependent by someone else
if you are married
or single
your age
if you are blind
For the 2019 tax year, if you were a single person under 65 years of age, this worked out to you in most cases not needing to file a tax return in 2020 if you made less than $12,200. If you were the head of your household, you typically weren’t required to file your 2019 tax return in 2020 if you made less than $18,350.
If you still need to file your 2019 taxes, get in touch
today. PriorTax.com can help you file your prior tax returns and answer
any questions you may have during the process. We can review and prep your
documents for you to download, print, sign, and mail off.
The deadline to file your 2019 taxes on time may have passed. However, it’s not too late to get on top of the paperwork and file your 2019 taxes. Plus, filing your prior year’s taxes can be easier than you think.
While it’s not too late to file your 2019 taxes, it is
now too late to file your 2019 taxes online using e-file. Instead, you will
need to mail in a hard copy of your tax return to file your 2019 taxes. The
deadline to use e-file to file your 2019 taxes online was October 15, 2020.
Although you can no longer file your 2019 taxes online,
there are options available for you to prepare your tax return online.
Visit PriorTax.com today. We can help you prepare your 2019 tax return
online, reviewing and organizing your documents to be downloaded, printed,
signed, and mailed off to the IRS. In addition, our experienced tax
professionals can answer any questions you may have along the way.
Now that you’ve decided to get back on track with your
tax filing obligations, where to start? The first step to filing any prior-year
tax return, including your 2019 taxes, is to gather all the information you
will need.
What you’ll need can be broken down into three broad
categories: your personal information, information about your income, and any
adjustments to your income. Let’s take each of these in turn.
Personal Information to file 2019 taxes online
This category contains information to help the IRS
process your tax return. The IRS needs to match the file of your 2019 taxes to
you, know who your tax return includes, and then know where to deposit your tax
refund if applicable.
Birthdates and
Social Security or other Taxpayer Identification Numbers for you, your spouse,
and your dependents
Copies of last
year’s tax returns are helpful but not required
Your bank account
number and routing number, if you want to receive any tax refund by direct
deposit
Information about your Income to file 2019 taxes online
This category contains all the information you will need to
fill out the income section of your 2019 tax return. The most common document
will be the W-2 form known as the “Wage and Tax Statement” that you received
from your employer. Other forms of income include self-employment income,
dividends, royalties which will have their own documents.
Here’s a checklist of the relevant income paperwork and
information you may have:
Form W-2
Form 1099-C
“Cancellation of Debt” (the IRS generally considers canceled debt as taxable
income)
Form 1099-G “Certain
Government Payments” (forms for unemployment income and state/local tax
refunds)
Form 1099-MISC
“Miscellaneous Income” (forms you may receive for a range of different types of
non-employee compensation)
Form 1099-R
“Distributions from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement, or Profit-Sharing Plans”
(forms for payments/distributions from IRAs or retirement plans)
Form 1099-S
“Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions” (forms for income from the sale of a
property)
Forms 1099-INT,
-DIV, -B, or K-1 s (forms for investment or interest income)
Form SSA-1099 (forms
for if you received Social Security benefits)
Alimony payments
received
Business or Farming
income: profit/loss statement, capital equipment information
Miscellaneous
Sources of Income: jury duty, gambling winnings, Medical Savings Account,
scholarships, etc.
Installment Sale
Information: Forms 6252, principal and interest collected during the year, SSN
and address for payer
Income and Expenses from Rental Property: profit/loss statement,
suspended loss information
Adjustments to your Income to file 2019 taxes online
This category contains the information about your
expenses that will help you calculate your Adjusted Gross Income or AGI. This
information can reduce the amount of your income that the IRS considers
taxable. This can help increase your tax refund or lower the amount of your tax
bill still outstanding.
Form 1098-E “Student
Loan Interest Statement” (forms for student loan interest paid, loan statements
for student loans are also relevant here)
Alimony payments
paid
Records of any IRA
contributions made during the year
Records of Health
Savings Account (HSA) contributions
For Students and
Student Dependents: Form 1098-T for tuition paid (receipts/canceled checks for
tuition paid for higher education are also relevant here)
For Teachers:
receipts/canceled checks for expenses paid for classroom supplies, etc.
For armed forces
reservists, employees with impairment-related work expenses, fee-basis state or
local government officials, and specific categories of performing artists:
receipts/canceled checks for employee business expenses.
If you are self-employed:
Records of
self-employed health insurance payments
Records of payments
into SEP, SIMPLE, and other qualified self-employed pension plans
Itemizing your Tax Deductions to file 2019 taxes online
While filing your 2019 taxes, just like in any other tax
year, you have the choice to either take the standard deduction or to itemize
your deductions.
The standard deduction is a preset amount that taxpayers
are allowed to deduct from their taxable income annually. The standard
deduction amount will depend on your filing status, and to keep up with
inflation, it is annually indexed.
Depending on your personal situation, itemizing your
deductions and credits may help you to lower your tax bill more than standard
deductions. This can be especially true for high earners who also have several
large expenses to deduct. To itemize your deductions, you will need to collect
documentation detailing expenses so that you can be sure you are getting all
the deductions and credits to your tax bill that you are eligible for.
What can you do if you are missing some of the tax documents you need to file 2019 taxes?
There can be a lot of paperwork and digital files to keep
track of to file your taxes. Have you lost some of your documents? Fortunately,
for the times when you cannot obtain new copies of your tax documents, there is
a backup available. In such cases, you can request a free tax transcript from
the IRS. This document will summarize your return information.
Free tax transcripts from the IRS are available for the
current tax year and the past three years. So, you have until 2023 to request a
free tax transcript for the 2019 tax year.
With the IRS system in place for stimulus payments, the only individuals targeted to use the Non-Filers tool had to have social security benefits or did not have any requirement to file a 2019 tax return. Typically, these taxpayers are retired individuals.