One of the least common things for many people who get a regular paycheck is a tax bill. Sure, you might have to pay a few bucks every once in a while on the 15th but for the most part, the United States Tax Code allows you as a wage earner to pay throughout the year and not have any unpleasant surprises on Tax Day.
Now, that changed a few years ago, and it wasn’t fun for a lot of people. Statistically, most people did pay less in taxes over the year, but the withholding standards had changed and people who never had to pay the IRS suddenly did.
With 2020 having been a crazy year as well, a lot of people jumped into the “gig” economy (delivering groceries, driving for Uber, etc) and those former “employees” suddenly became “contractors”… and they’re going to owe the government a lot of money very soon due to income that was never taxed.
Sound familiar? All over the country, people are going to have this struggle and the worst part is most can avoid it if they take action now. Even if they have to pay, those installment agreements can be set up now – not in April – and begin to lower balances, reduce tax penalties, and prevent levy from the IRS.
Can we diagnose your troubles – if you even have them – via email? Of course not. What I can say is this: if you lost a job or got laid off last year and began working as a contractor to make ends meet, you’re still responsible for paying taxes and you would be well served to avoid penalties on any tax liability.
Basically, if you didn’t pay taxes on it, then remember that you will still have to and it might be a great idea to get an early handle on this.
Schedule time with us to go over the scenario you found yourself in – it’s not going to hurt, but it can absolutely help get you sorted out and ready for tax season.
Let’s get things figured out.