“On April 15th you count your blessings . . . and then send them to Washington.”
“America is the land of opportunity. Everybody can become a taxpayer.”
“About the time a man is cured of swearing, another income tax is due.”
It’s tax season, the time of year where visions of sugar plums are replaced with visions of tax forms and dollar signs, but should this land you in a state of panic? No, there is help available straight from IRS. Have you visited www.IRS.gov lately?
Let’s face it, no one really enjoys paying income tax, but it’s our Sixteenth Constitutional Amendment right. In this age of easy information access, I find the offerings of IRS to be extremely useful.
On their website they tell us the IRS is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury and one of the world’s most efficient tax administrators. In fiscal year 2010, the IRS collected more than $2.3 trillion in revenue and processed more than 230 million tax returns. Their mission is to provide America’s taxpayers top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all.
You can find information for individuals, businesses, employees, farmers and more. There are forms, some of which can be filled out and submitted right online. You can find Publications covering topics ranging from Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer to Publication 1546 The Taxpayer Advocate Service of the IRS – How to Get Help With Unresolved Tax Problems and more. If you need a form to file your income tax return, you can find it.
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here and encourage you to visit the IRS website where you’ll find a wealth of information ready for taking. And, don’t forget, the tax filing deadline is April 17th this year. Here’s a good place to start, www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=119092,00.html.
Remember, The University of Scranton Small Business Development Center is here to help guide you as you prepare to meet with your accounting professional. To become a client, visit our website at www.scrantonsbdc.com.
Donna J. Simpson
Consultant Manager
The University of Scranton SBDC
