FAQ

IRS: Click here, then find the tab ‘Filing & Payment–Where’s My Refund’

Utah: Click here, then find ‘Taxpayer Access Point (TAP)’ under the ‘Where’s My Refund?’ heading.

3 years from the due date of the return. Example: The tax return for the year 2024 is due on April 18, 2025. You need to keep your tax records until April 18, 2028.

Generally children 18 or younger living at home can be claimed as dependents. Children 19–23 can be claimed if:

1. They were in school “full-time” for 5 months (which would include partial months) during the year. “School” = high school, college, vocational school, etc. “Full-time” is as determined by that institution. OR
2. During the year were not in school for 5 months, but earned less than approximately $4,000.

Children over 23 years of age only can be claimed if they earned less than $4,000 during the year.

According current IRS law, the custodial parent is the one having the right to claim the child as a tax dependent. The custodial parent = parent with whom the child lived for more than ½ of the year. (Clients will often say they have “joint custody”. That has no bearing on this matter.)

The custodial parent may agree to let the non-custodial parent claim the child in question. This may require IRS Form 8332 to be completed.

Divorce decrees may stipulate which spouse is entitled to claim a child. However, the IRS is not bound by divorce decrees. Of main importance is coming to an agreement with your ex-spouse. If both spouses claim the same child, you can count on being contacted by the IRS.

If there is a concern in this area, let us know.

Yes. If the requirements are met, you can claim just about anyone living with you as a dependent (such as a brother/sister, nephew/niece, parent, friend, etc.).

If you have someone living with you other than your dependent children, let us know.

Maybe. A return is only required to be filed if income is above a certain level. Bring you child’s W-2 forms along with you when you come for your appointment. We will determine whether a return needs to be filed. (If so, we’ll prepare that return for free!)

Get it to us ASAP. (Scan & email it; fax it; or mail it to us). Never respond to IRS or Utah correspondence without first letting us look at it. (We will then let you know what needs to be done.)

If you have exhausted your attempts to get a W-2 form from a particular company, bring in your last pay stub from that company. Hopefully, it will reflect “year-to-date” amounts that can be used on your tax return. If not on the pay stub, we will need to know the name & address of the company.

We keep tax returns on file in our computer system. Call/email us and we’ll send copies of the returns to you. (It’s easiest for us to email the returns to you.)

If we did not prepare your tax returns for the year in question, let us know—there are other things we can do to help you in this area.

Depends on the nature of your business and the type of “entity” in which you choose to operate (i.e., sole-proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, etc.)

If this is something you want to do outside of “tax season” (Jan – April), send us a brief email to let us know what you have in mind: type of business; who will be the owners, estimated annual revenue you might generate, etc. We can then discuss the various options available to you.

Your filing status is determined as of December 31st of the year.

Example 1: You get married on December 30th of the year. You cannot file a return using the status “single”.

Example 2: You get divorced in June, and do not remarry by the end of the year. You cannot file a “joint” return with your ex-spouse.

You are never required to file jointly with your spouse. If you are married but do not want to file a “joint” return, the options are to:

1. File using the status “married filing separate”. However, some tax credits allowed on a “joint” return are disallowed on a “married filing separate” return. So “married filing separate” may result in a higher tax liability.
2. File using the status “head of household”. This can be used if you lived separate from your spouse for the entire last 6 months of the year and maintained a home/apartment (i.e., made the house/rent payment, paid for the utilities, etc.) in which you and at least one child (or parent) also lived.

Neither the IRS nor Utah recognizes a “common-law” type of marriage. Example: you are not married but cohabitate with another individual for the entire year. You cannot file a “joint” return.

If a person is alive at any time during the year, he/she is considered alive for the entire year.

Example 1: a child is born, but passes away that same day. He/she can be claimed by his parents as a tax dependent for that year;

Example 2: Your spouse passes away on December 15th of the year. You still can file a joint return with that spouse.