Key to taxes: Don't delay

With the end of tax season approaching, Morgan City tax professional Chad Benoit suggests taxpayers should not wait until the last minute to file their taxes.

The deadline to file federal taxes is April 18 this year. The deadline was changed because the federal government will be observing Emancipation Day April 15.

“The key to tax season is you don’t wait,” Benoit said. “There’s no point in waiting. If you’re going to pay then … you’re going to pay no matter what. You can’t stop that.”

Benoit advises taxpayers to file earlier in the year in order to allow more time to pay back the Internal Revenue Service what is owed.

“There’s no point in waiting. There’s really no point for the rush. Why stress yourself till April 18 and you’ve been having this? You still have until the end to pay or make amends with the IRS.”

“People have a misconception with tax season,” Benoit said. “If they figure they’re going to owe the IRS, they wait till the last day to do the taxes. … They can do their taxes in January. If they owe they still have all the way to April to pay off what they owe.”

Benoit’s Tax Solutions is seeing a big incline of people who are self-employed and employees with larger incomes coming in now for tax preparation. The delay is because they usually owe the IRS, Benoit said.

If someone is self-employed or receiving a 1099 miscellaneous form, then keeping receipts that track expenses and mileage for the business will be advantageous at tax time.

“You want to bring your income down as much as possible,” Benoit said. “And that’s the way you’ll have to pay less in taxes. You have to have your receipts. You have to have proof just in case the IRS asks for it.”

Mileage can be deducted whether it’s for a job, medical appointments and expenses. It’s important to keep records.

“You get miles for medical expenses like going to and from the doctor,” Benoit said. “You can claim roundtrip mileage for doctor’s appointments even if you have to travel to New Orleans for visits.

“You keep track of those miles because you get so much per mile for doing that.”

This year medical premiums paid can be claimed with Affordable Care, better known as Obamacare.

“If you pay $200 a month, that’s $2,400 you can claim,” Benoit.

For those who secure health insurance through Obamacare, Benoit strongly recommends if you’re married to make sure both incomes are combined when getting coverage.

“When you sign up for the Affordable Care Act, you give them what you think you’re going to make in that year,” Benoit said. “If I tell them I think I’m going to make $40,000, then they’re going to give me a plan on $40,000.

“But if I’m married and I made $40,000 and my wife made $30,000, my plan should have been for $70,000,” he said. “So now I owe them a premium tax credit. And we’re seeing a lot of that.

“People have to be careful when they sign up for the Affordable Care Act to overcompensate the amount they’re going to make. … And then I’ll get the portion of the difference back as a refund from the IRS.”

Employees can receive tax benefits based on their qualifications for hire.

If an employer sends an employee to another place in a personal vehicle, miles can be claimed if the company does not reimburse mileage.

If you’re a welder working for a company and buy your own welding machine to use at work, then you can claim that as long as you use that at your job location, Benoit said.

People required to wear uniforms they buy themselves and are required to maintain a certain appearance can claim expenses for tax purposes.

“People like police officers that have to be clean shaven, certain haircut … can claim those razors, those trips to the barber,” Benoit said.

There are many ways to help alleviate the burden of owing a lot of money to the IRS.

“But the key is records, records, records,” Benoit said.

Benoit is a volunteer tax professional at Benoit’s Tax Solutions. His wife, Marla Benoit, is the owner.