If you are still working on filing your taxes this year, you will have another month to file this year. The IRS announced that they will be moving the tax filing deadline from April 15 to May 17, 2021. In addition the deadline for tax payments, like quarterly self-employment taxes, has also been pushed to May 17.

Of course, there are always a multitude of options when filing your taxes. Here’s a few options:

The Best Free Options, $72,000 and under:

If you made less than $72,000 over 2020, you can visit the Free File page on the IRS site. That site provides nine software options on third party sites. Read each option carefully to see if you qualify. Many of the options are limited to a specific age range, state or even dollar figure.

For instance, the TurboTax’s popular software caps the limit at $39,000 rather than $72,000 unless you eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Alternatively, Free1040TaxReturn.com offers the $72,000 limit to anyone under 70, assuming you don’t live in fourteen excluded states.

Some of these sites will also offer free state returns, but others will charge. It’s recommended that you search your state’s website for information regarding free filing options for state taxes.

The Best Free Option, over $72,000:

If you make more than $72,000 in your household, you can also just enter your tax information into the paper forms using FreeFile. Of course, this is significantly more complex as you have to understand how tax forms work rather than answering questions in tax software. However, you can use your tax forms (completed with tax software from previous years) to figure out where to fill out data correctly.

In addition, this is the fifth year that Credit Karma has offered this service. According to the signup page, the service will be completely free. Specifically, they claim to offer free federal & state filing, no additional fees for using the service and have a support staff on hand to answer questions.

The Cheapest Software Options:

If your taxes are very complicated and requires lots of itemizing, you may want to invest in TurboTax. This would be more ideal for anyone that’s a small business owner or has to deal with investments like rental property. The downside is that you will have to pay up to $130 for the right software as an additional $50 when filing your state taxes.

There are also some perks to consider with more expensive software. Some tax software has an auto-import feature that pulls all W2 information in without having to enter it line by line. Other features included in some tax software are audit-checks, saving tax info online and the ability to load your refund onto a Visa prepaid card or a store gift card.

Here’s a quick breakdown on costs for the top five tax software options:

• TurboTax – Federal: $70 to $130
• TaxAct – Federal: $45 to $80
• TaxSlayer – Federal: $25 to $55
• H&R Block – Federal: $50 to $110
• Jackson Hewitt – Federal: $49 (includes state as well)

Bonus Saving Tip!

Check your credit card for % off bonuses or $ off bonuses when using a specific tax software option. For instance, American Express is offering a cardmember perk that offers 30% cashback when filing with TaxAct.

Do You Even Need to File?

Just a reminder, you may not need to file a tax return if you make less than $12,400 per year (under age 65). Here’s a chart that breaks down income thresholds for filing.

However, you may want to considering filing anyway, especially if you can tax advantage of credits like the American Opportunity credit in addition to qualifying for any COVID- related stimulus payments. That could help you get a little extra money back this year.

Are There Deals on Tax Software?

Yes. Turbotax and HR Block software packages will go on and off sale frequently starting in late January through the end of tax season. Look for deals in the Ben’s feed here from retailers such as Amazon and Newegg.

IRS extends 2021 tax filing deadline to May 17

We’ve reached the time of the year where we all have the same thought: Please, please, please don’t let me pay too much on my income taxes!

Another thing on which all Americans can agree: We like (legal) tax deductions. Whether you’re doing your taxes yourself or paying a professional, we can help you make sure you don’t miss any commonly overlooked tax deductions to which you’re entitled. (And don’t forget to check out our list of the cheapest ways to calculate your taxes.)

1. Child Care Tax Credit

This is one of the most confusing rules in taxes. But if you pay for child care while you work, you can take a credit for a chunk of that payment. This credit is better than a deduction, because tax deductions only reduce the amount of income that’s subject to tax, while the credit reduces the actual tax bill. Make sure you take advantage of this credit and calculate it correctly!

2. Donating to a Charity

You may already deduct money you donate to charity, but you can write off other things you do for charity too. If you drive as part of the charity, you can deduct up to 14 cents per mile driven.

If you make a meal and donate it to your local homeless shelter, you can deduct the cost of the ingredients. Basically, anything that you give to the charity, other than your time, is deductible.

3. Earned Income Tax Credit

As described above, this tax credit is better than a deduction, because it directly reduces your actual tax bill. Still, many people don’t understand the EITC. It’s aimed at providing help for low income earners. You’ll have to go through a series of calculations to see if you qualify, which thwarts some people from seeking the credit, but if you qualify, you’ll be glad you took the time.

4. Mortgage Points

Another confusing deduction for a lot of people concerns points paid to obtain a mortgage rate. At the time you purchase a home, you can deduct all points paid for the year you obtain the loan. But if you refinance the loan later and pay points, you have to deduct those points over the life of the loan, such as 1/30th of the points per year on a 30-year mortgage. If you sell the house before the 30 years are up, you then can take a deduction for the points remaining. Confusing certainly, but important to understand to take deductions at the right time.

5. Recovering from Natural Disaster

If your home was hit by a natural disaster, you will be able to deduct some of the money you spent to put things back together, as long as insurance didn’t reimburse you for those expenses.

Some of the casualty loss calculations are a bit confusing, which means some people just skip the process, but this deduction can ease the sting of the disaster.

6. State Sales Tax

If you live in a state that doesn’t collect income taxes, you can deduct your state and local sales taxes from your federal tax bill. Although this can be a huge hassle to track this over 12 months and save every receipt, it’ll especially be worth your time during years in which you made large item purchases subject to sales tax, such as vehicles or construction materials for a home remodeling.

7. Student Loan Interest

If your parents or another party are helping you pay student loan debt, but the loan is in your name, you must take the tax deductions associated with it. Only the person legally obligated to the debt can take the tax break for the interest paid on the loan. The IRS treats the loan repayment as a gift to the child. In other words, in the eyes of the IRS, the parents are giving the money to the child as a gift, who then uses it to pay toward the debt … even if mom and dad write a check directly to the student loan provider.

It’s Tax Time Again! 7 Commonly Overlooked Tax Deductions