ITA Home This interview will help you determine if you're required to file a federal tax return or if you should file to receive a refund. The tool is designed for taxpayers who were U.S. citizens or resident aliens for the entire tax year for which they're inquiring. If married, the spouse must also have been a U.S. citizen or resident alien for the entire tax year. For information about nonresidents or dual-status aliens, please see
International Taxpayers. Conclusions are based on information provided by you in response to the questions you answered. Answers do not constitute written advice in response to a specific written request of the taxpayer
within the meaning of section 6404(f) of the Internal Revenue Code. Estimated Completion Time: 12 minutes Please Note: After 15 minutes of inactivity, you'll be forced to start over. Caution: Using the "Back" button within the ITA tool could cause an application error. Begin Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 07-Oct-2022 Generally, April 15 is the deadline for most people to file their individual income tax returns and pay any tax owed. During its processing, the IRS checks your tax return for mathematical accuracy. When processing is complete, if you owe any tax, penalty, or interest, you will receive a bill. You must file your return and pay your tax by the due date to avoid interest and penalty charges. Often, you can borrow the funds necessary to pay your tax at a lower effective rate than the combined IRS interest and penalty rate. Electronic payment options, available on our
Payments page, are the most convenient ways for you to pay your federal taxes. However, if you decide to pay by mail, be sure to return the tear-off stub on your bill and use our return envelope, if provided. To make sure your payment credits properly to your account, please:
For more information about ensuring proper credit of payments, see Topic No. 158. The IRS may abate your penalties for filing and paying late if you can show reasonable cause and that the failure wasn't due to willful neglect. Making a good faith payment as soon as you can may help to establish that your initial failure to pay timely was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. If you're billed for penalty charges and you have reasonable cause for abatement of the penalty, send your explanation along with the bill to your service center, or call us at 800-829-1040 for assistance (see Telephone and Local Assistance for hours of operation). The IRS doesn't generally abate interest charges and they continue to accrue until all assessed tax, penalties, and interest are fully paid. There are some exceptions to the general deadlines for filing a return and paying tax, such as:
It's important that you review your notice or bill. If after reviewing it you believe there's an error, write to the IRS office that sent it to you within the time frame given or call the number listed on your notice or bill for assistance. You should provide photocopies of any records that may help the IRS correct the error. If you're correct, we'll make the necessary adjustment to your account and send you a corrected notice. For more information about IRS notices and bills, refer to Publication 594, The IRS Collection ProcessPDF. For more information about penalties, refer to our Penalties page. For more information about penalty and interest charges, refer to Chapter 1, Filing Information, of Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax for Individuals. What does the IRS do if you don't pay?The failure-to-pay penalty is equal to one half of one percent per month or part of a month, up to a maximum of 25 percent, of the amount still owed. The penalty rate is cut in half — to one quarter of one percent — while a payment plan is in effect. Interest and penalties add to the total amount you owe.
Why do you gotta pay the IRS?In addition to paying the salaries of government workers, your tax dollars also help to support common resources, such as police and firefighters. Tax money helps to ensure the roads you travel on are safe and well-maintained. Taxes fund public libraries and parks.
Do I owe anything to the IRS?You can access your federal tax account through a secure login at IRS.gov/account. Once in your account, you can view the amount you owe along with details of your balance, view 18 months of payment history, access Get Transcript, and view key information from your current year tax return.
Do I really have to pay taxes?Congress used the power granted by the Constitution and Sixteenth Amendment, and made laws requiring all individuals to pay tax. Congress has delegated to the IRS the responsibility of administering the tax laws known as the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and found in Title 26 of the United States Code.
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