Common Errors on Tax Forms

The IRS (Inland Revenue Service) has drawn up lists of the most common mistakes that people make when filling out their tax returns every year. People are often tired and stressed when they fill out the forms so it is easy for mistakes to creep in. However sometimes those mistakes can undo all of your hard work by delaying the processing of your return or even meaning you submit a factually incorrect tax return. If you want to avoid such mistakes and delays then look out for the following mistakes:

(1) Making a mistake with your social security number – writing it incorrectly or missing a digit. Incredibly this is the most common mistake, with people doing all the hard work to get their forms just right and then making an error on this simple thing.

(2) Making a mistake with documents on taxable income or filing status - If you don't know your correct filing status or your taxable income then you should probably be getting a tax attorney or accountant to fill out your form!

(3) Miscalculating Earned Income Credit, taxable income and / or withholding of estimated taxation payments - Again, these are the nuts and bolts of your tax return so you should be clear about these before you fill out the forms.

(4) False / incorrect or missing information concerning child and dependent credits and child care.

(5) Putting withholdings and taxation payments on the wrong form or the wrong line of the form.

(6) Errors with subtraction and addition.

(7) Claiming the wrong filing status – ensure that you have the correct criteria and requirements for your chosen taxation status.

(8) Not remembering to sign or date your tax return - You’d be amazed how many people forget this bit. The IRS might not accept your tax return as legal or official if it is filed without your signature.

(9) Claiming for dependents who are ineligible to claim - Go through all your qualifications for dependents and check that all of them have a social security number if they are to claim.

(10) Not reporting every single bit of earned income - Even if you haven’t got a 1099 or W2 you absolutely must report all of the income that you have earned in that particular tax year, whether as an individual, a business, or as part of an umbrella company.

(11) Filling out and submitting the wrong tax form - It is essential that you use the right paperwork and forms for the right year. The IRS can supply all of the information that you need to make sure you get the forms right.

Esther is a financial journalist and blogger. She writes about all areas of personal finance from mortgages to credit cards and also maintains a blog for a Chicago injury law firm.