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6 Ways to Help Secure Your Personal Identity

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As you grew up, you were taught how to play safely and be aware of your surroundings. As adults, the same concept can also apply to a variety of things, including the most important part of your life: personal finances. With the majority of your finances living online, and the increased amount of personal information available to the public, it’s now more important than ever to make sure you’re completely secure. And since tax season is right around the corner, we can’t think of a better time to reanalyze your financial security. That’s why we’ve compiled these six tips below to help strengthen your security network and build protection against identity theft. 1. Make Strong Passwords and Keep them Updated.  Some websites require you to meet a certain number of non-alphabetical characters and letters, which solidifies a secure password and makes it more difficult for someone to hack into your account. When you create a strong password, it’s also important to avoid common or ea
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Can I get an extension for amending a return?

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No, but the IRS gives you plenty of time to amend a return that you filed. Generally speaking, you have 3 years from the date you filed the return (or 2 years from the date you paid the tax due on the return – whichever is  later ) to file an amended return. Here's a few examples for 2016 tax year returns: If you filed on January 31, 2017 (before the April deadline) and owed no tax, you'd have until April 15, 2020 to file an amended 2016 return. This is because returns filed on or before the April deadline are considered to have been filed on the deadline. However, if you filed  after  the April deadline (say, on May 1, 2017), you'd have 3 years from that date to file an amendment (May 1, 2020 in this example). If you filed on March 21, 2017 and paid additional tax due on that date, you'd have until March 21, 2020 to file an amended 2016 return. This is because 3 years from the filing date (March 21, 2020) is later than 2 years from the payment date (Ma
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What is the deadline for filing an amended return?

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The IRS will accept an amended return up to 3 years after the date you filed the original return  or  within 2 years after you paid the tax due on the return,  whichever is later . Tip:  If you filed before the April deadline, the IRS considers the April deadline to be the filing date (for example, if you filed in January, you'd have until April 15 three years down the road to file the amendment). Some unusual tax situations, such as NOL and general business credit carrybacks or situations involving bad debts, get more time to amend. However, for most people, the deadline to amend a 2012 or earlier return has passed. Related Information:  http://www.turbotax4u.com/
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How do I cancel or undo an amended return in TurboTax Online?

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If you started amending your federal return by accident and would like to cancel the amendment, carefully follow this process to correctly "unamend" your federal return: Open your return in TurboTax Online. (To do this, sign in to TurboTax and click the orange  Take me to my return  button.) Click  Review  near the top of your screen and keep going until you reach the  You did it! Your taxes are amended. Near the top of your screen, click  Federal Taxes  (or  Personal  in Home & Business) >  Other Tax Situations  > scroll down to  Other Tax Forms  > then click  Start  or  Update  next to  Amend a Return . Click  Continue  on the following screen ( We'll help you amend ) and then answer  No, I don't need to amend  to the question  Have you already filed this return?  Click  Continue . Click  Cancel  next to,  Nevermind, I don't need to amend. The best way to "unamend" your state return is to go through your state return  from th
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What if I entered the wrong bank account for direct deposit?

Once your return has been accepted (or mailed), it's too late to change your bank account for direct deposit. If you haven't filed yet, you can still change your bank account info for direct deposit.  If the info you provided is for a closed or invalid account, the government will mail you a refund check. If the info you entered is someone else's account, don't worry – some banks won't deposit tax refunds into accounts where names don't match up.  The best way for you to track your federal refund is to call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. If your recently-filed return is in pending status, wait until it's either accepted or rejected. If rejected, you can update your account and any issues that caused the rejection.   Open your return in TurboTax and go through the  File  section again to update your bank account before re-submitting your return. If accepted, you'll get your refund check in the mail.
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What does Pending mean?

Pending  simply means that your e-filed return is on its way and that the government hasn't accepted or rejected it yet. If you e-filed your return in January, it'll stay in Pending status until the IRS starts processing the backlog of returns. After January, e-filed returns generally sit in Pending status for 24-48 hours before coming back as either Acceptedor Rejected. Sometimes state returns stay in Pending for several days or even longer. If you contact the government or try look up your refund status while your return is still pending, don't be surprised if they tell you "no record found."  This is normal ; until the government starts reviewing and processing your return, they won't have any record of it. Related Information:  http://www.turbotax4u.com/
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Why is my state e-file status incomplete?

Until your federal return has been processed and accepted, your state return will show as incomplete. Once your federal return has been accepted, your state return will show as processing and then accepted or rejected by your state. If your state return is still showing as incomplete after your federal return has been accepted, you might not have submitted your state return. This can happen if some of your state forms were not finalized when you tried to e-file your state at the same time as e-filing your Federal return. Related Information:  http://www.turbotax4u.com/
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