Tax season 2023 is upon us. If you haven’t already, now is the time to assemble all the things you will need for taxes on income you earned and taxable events that happened to you in 2022. Parts of this tax season will be the same as most years, but there are some key changes that will make this tax season different.

Whether you plan to DIY your taxes or work with a tax professional, it is important to know as much key information as possible. Take ownership over your taxes and win with your money.

Key Dates

  • January 24: Tax Season Begins
    • The IRS will begin accepting tax returns for the 2022 tax year on January 24, 2023. This is a little early for some folks, as many employers haven’t even sent out W-2’s yet, but if you have all your paperwork, go for it!
  • April 18: Tax Day 2023
    • Taxes are due April 18. Traditionally, the day falls on April 15, but it gets pushed later this year for a few reasons. In 2023, April 15 is on a Saturday, so the due date is pushed to the following Monday. However, that Monday is a federal holiday in Washington, D.C. – Emancipation Day. Therefore, Tax Day becomes the Tuesday and Americans have a few extra days to finish their tax returns. States that have a state income tax generally follow the same due dates as the federal tax schedule. This is also the last day you have to make 2022 contributions to IRA accounts.
  • October 16: Tax Extension Due Date 2023
    • If you choose to file an extension on your taxes, your new tax return due date will be Monday, October 16. You must file your extension by the April due date. Note that this extension only gives you extra time to file your return. If you owe a balance to the IRS, you must still pay that amount or an estimated payment by the April due date. If you are due a refund, you will not receive your refund until after you file your return by the extended date.

Key Forms

The most important form for individuals is IRS Form 1040. This is the “master form” where you list all your income, deductions, and credits. It sounds intimidating, but it is really only one sheet of paper, both sides. Every other piece of paper attached to the tax return supports an item on Form 1040.

Here are some other common tax forms you might hear about this year:

  • Form W-2
    • If you earned money as an employee in 2022, you will receive a W-2 from each employer. When you open your W-2, you will see the total amount you earned in wages, tips, and other compensation from that employer in 2022, along with all taxes withheld. These will be federal, state, and local taxes withheld, as well as Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld. There may be other amounts or codes on the W-2 as well for special circumstances.
  • Form 1099
    • If you earned other money in 2022 that was not from an employer, it will probably be reported on a 1099. There are different varieties of 1099s for different sorts of income.
      • Interest income (from investments or bank accounts) is reported on a 1099-INT
      • Dividends get a 1099-DIV.
      • Business money received from a third-party transaction agent such as Paypal or Venmo will receive a 1099-K.
        • A note about 1099-K’s: We’ve heard a lot this year about 1099s being issued for lower thresholds. As of December 2022, the IRS has decided to postpone the requirement for payment processors to issue 1099-K’s for amounts over $600. For this tax year, the filing requirement will remain at the old level of $20,000 or 200 transactions. “Friends and family” transactions were never included in the IRS’s calculations and remain nontaxable transactions.
      • If you had rental income or received money as an independent contractor, you will get a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC.
  • Form 1098
    • IRS Form 1098 shows the amount you paid in mortgage loan interest. This is a deductible expense if you choose to itemize your deductions. It will be issued to you from your mortgage lender.
  • Form 1095-A
    • You will receive a Form 1095-A if you were covered by Marketplace health insurance for any period during the tax year. It will show the months out of the year you were covered, what medical tax credits you used, and how much you paid in premiums. While all forms are important to file an accurate tax return, this one is especially important. If you are missing it, you will not have proof of healthcare coverage and will face steep penalties for missing health coverage for the year.
  • Form 8889
    • If you have a high-deductible health plan, you may also have an HSA account for medical spending. Contributions to, and distributions from, an HSA are nontaxable as long as they are used for qualified medical expenses.
      • These contributions and distributions – money in and money out – of the HSA are reported on Form 8889. You may get this form from your bank or other financial institution that holds your HSA account. Be sure to have receipts from any money spent to have proof that your expenses were qualified medical expenses.

Common Taxable Events

A “taxable event” is something that you did, or that happened to you, that affects your tax return. Did you deal with any of these in 2022?

  • Family Events
    • Changes in your personal life can affect your tax return.
    • Marriage qualifies you to file a joint return with your spouse. This can come with the benefit of a lower tax bracket, especially if one spouse is nonworking or has a significantly lower income.
    • If you divorced and did not remarry, you will have to switch to either a single or head of household filing status.
    • If your spouse died in 2022 or 2021, you may qualify for the Qualifying Surviving Spouse (formerly Qualifying Widow) filing status. This allows you to have the same tax benefits as married filing jointly for an additional two years after the spouse’s death.
    • The birth of a child qualifies you for an additional child tax credit. Adoption can also. Adoption can also lead to tax credits, both for the added child tax credit and the adoption expenses themselves.
  • Purchase or Sale of a Primary Residence
    • If you bought a new home this year, you may choose to deduct your mortgage loan interest and property taxes paid on your federal income taxes.
    • If you sold a home this year, you will have to report any gain or loss on the sale. If it is the sale of a primary residence, you will probably be able to exclude most or all of the gain from the sale.
  • Affected by a Qualified Disaster
    • Parts of the country were affected by natural disasters in 2022. Wildfires, earthquakes, and, most notably, Hurricane Ian, caused millions of dollars of casualty losses across the country.
      • Portions of these losses can be deducted on the tax returns of affected individuals. Consult a tax pro to determine if you qualify for this deduction.
  • Sale of an Asset
    • If you bought or sold an asset such as stocks, bonds, or precious metals, you must report any gain or loss on the sale of the asset. If you bought it and sold it within the same year, it is counted as a short-term capital gain and will be taxed at a much higher rate. If you have held this asset for more than a year, it will be taxed as a long-term capital gain instead.

Important Tax Changes for This Year

The most important thing to know about the 2022 tax year is not new tax changes, but tax changes that are leaving. 2020 and 2021 both had unusual tax provisions intended to help Americans weather the COVID economic storm.

These included:

  • An expanded child tax credit
  • Expanded income brackets for the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child and Dependent Care Credit
  • Greater availability for health insurance premium tax deductions
  • All of these extra tax breaks expired at the end of 2021, and have largely reverted to their pre-Covid levels.

FAQs

  • When Will I Get My Refund?
    • If you want to check the status of your tax return after you have filed, you can check on the IRS website. If you e-file your tax return, the status of your return and refund will be viewable within 36 hours. If you file a paper return, expect to wait at least 4 weeks before you can see your return status.
    • Most tax refunds will be issued to taxpayers within 3 weeks of return processing. Don’t rely on this as a guarantee if you have bills to pay, though – some refunds may take longer or be selected randomly for audit.
  • What If I Don’t File?
    • If you don’t have an obligation to file a tax return because you had such a low income, there are no consequences for failing to file a tax return. However, it may be smart to file a return anyway – this can provide you with valuable proof of income for other benefits, or qualify you for refundable tax credits.
    • If you do have an obligation to file a tax return, and don’t, you will pay a Failure to File penalty of 5% of your unpaid tax per month for up to 5 months. This will bring your total possible Failure to File penalty to 25% of your total tax due, plus interest on the unpaid balance.
  • What If I Can’t Pay My Taxes?
    • If you know that you will owe taxes, and that you won’t be able to pay them, it may be tempting to simply not file at all. You should not do this. If you do not file at all, you will incur both a Failure to File and a Failure to Pay penalty. The Failure to File penalty will max out after 5 months, but the Failure to Pay penalty will keep going. Even if you cannot pay your taxes, you still should file the return. This will stop the Failure to File penalty. You will still incur a Failure to Pay penalty, but it is much less – only 0.5% per month, plus interest, until the tax is paid.
    • You can avoid some penalties, but not interest, by arranging a payment plan with the IRS to pay your tax due. This also shows good faith that you wish to pay your taxes but are unable to do so, instead of attempting tax evasion. The interest rate on unpaid taxes and penalties varies, and is based on the federal short-term interest rate. Here’s some additional information on what to do if you cannot pay your taxes.

Whew! It’s been a long ride – but after reading through this guide, hopefully you are better prepared to take on the tax season. You got this! If you need help, open the Brigit app and head to the Earn & Save tab. We have exclusive partnerships with tax companies to help you do everything from file your taxes for free (YEP) to working with a pro if your situation is a bit sticky