(NewsNation) — The deadline to file taxes in the United States is looming, with Tues. April 15 the cutoff day.
It was first introduced in 1913, coinciding with the ratification of the 16th Amendment. It is the final day—barring an exemption—to file taxes without penalty.
Despite common thought, you can file your taxes for free, here’s how.
Documents you need
To file your taxes, you need several documents. These include a variety of personal information and income-related data.
According to the IRS, you need:
Personal information:
- Social security number or individual tax ID number
- Bank account and routing numbers if using direct deposit for refunds
- Adjusted gross income
- Refund amount from previous tax return
- Current address
- Self-select PIN if you e-filed last year
- IP PIN if you were a victim of identity theft
Income:
- Paycheck stubs
- W-2 form
- Bank statements or documents from other payment apps or online marketplaces
- Checks addressed to you
- Unemployment payments
If you didn’t get a W-2, you may have received a 1099 form, which shows other types of income. Common types include a 1099-K for payments received through online marketplaces such as PayPal; a 1099-G for government payments such as unemployment benefits; a 1099-NEC for contractor or freelance work; and a SSA-1099 for Social Security benefits.
To take advantage of tax credits, you will need to provide other documents, such as:
- Childcare or dependent care expenses
- Home mortgage and property tax records
- Charitable donations
- Health savings account or flexible spending account contributions
- Health care expenses
- Retirement contributions
- Education expenses (for students and teachers)
Utilizing IRS tools and resources
Direct File, which came into effect in 2024, is a free tool available in 25 states to persons filing federal returns directly with the IRS.
The Treasury Department estimated that one-third of all federal income tax returns filed could be prepared using Direct File last year.
It is available in:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- California
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington state
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
A transcript can be requested of your account history, which includes wage and income information from any given tax year.
Through this, you can assess your payment history and the amount of money you owe. To access this, you must provide your Social Security number.
To beat the tax deadline, you can receive the transcripts online.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites across the country are staffed with volunteers who will help you file a return or arrange for an extension for free. These volunteers can help you set up an installment payment plan of as many as 72 months to pay off any owed taxes.
Filing advice and tips if filing yourself
First and foremost, if you cannot meet the deadline, you can file an extension.
Form 4868 is what you need to gain an extension via the IRS Free File platform. This must be completed before Tuesday’s deadline. It does not extend the timeline to pay taxes.
If you don’t file a return or ask for an extension, then interest and penalties begin to accrue immediately. Those costs are largely avoidable if you share the information about your circumstances with the IRS in a timely way. Filing a return without paying taxes owed in full is preferable to not filing.
If you don’t pay all the taxes you owe by the April 15 filing deadline, interest will accrue even if you’ve been granted an extension to October, but that interest will be more manageable than fees that add up when you pay no taxes at all.
If you’ve experienced unusual hardship, and you share that with the IRS, the IRS can sometimes put your account in “currently-not-collectible” status. To do that, you share information about your income and living expenses, and the IRS determines if you qualify.
NewsNation’s Ashley Soriano and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
