00:03By now you've learned a lot about money and taxes.
00:07You could be an expert, but what happens if you make a mistake?
00:11Today we're uncovering the common tax mistakes people make and how to fix them.
00:17And we're also going to hear from our tax experts about their top tips to help you move
00:21forward.
00:26You know, even I've made some mistakes in my lifetime.
00:29When I first started my business, I didn't realize I had to pay quarterly taxes.
00:34So when I filed my tax return, I got hit with this huge tax bill I didn't prepare for.
00:40But with any mistake I've made in my lifetime, I've learned it doesn't help to panic, but
00:44instead stay calm and then learn so it doesn't happen again in the future.
00:48Today, we will have questions from Naj and Mikayla.
00:52And to help us better understand them, we have our tax experts with their explanations.
01:00Not filing your taxes?
01:02The IRS does not care how young you are.
01:05If you owe taxes, you must pay.
01:07Filing a tax return without all of your documents.
01:11Not keeping track of your income, your 1099s, your W-2s.
01:16People think like, oh, can I just go back and add it?
01:19No, it's already been sent to the IRS, to the state.
01:22If you have to send it to the state, you would have to amend your return and send it in
01:26via
01:27the mail.
01:28And it's a to-do.
01:29With my accountant, you know, I interviewed a few people.
01:32I asked for recommendations, making sure that she was a certified tax preparer.
01:37I worked with someone who wasn't.
01:39And I literally paid for it.
01:41They got me this significant refund.
01:43And it turns out I wasn't eligible for any of that refund and I had to pay it back.
01:47Not keeping any receipts.
01:49Not a good idea.
01:50You never know.
01:51Bring it to your tax professional.
01:52You might be able to deduct it and get more money back on your return or owe less.
01:55Do not juxtapose numbers.
01:57There's a big difference between 6,000 and 9,000.
02:02And it's more than just a flipped upside down six.
02:09Organizing tips that I use throughout the year are labeling every single one of my receipts
02:13that I ever get, whether I need them or not.
02:16Just because maybe I'll use them, maybe I'll need them, maybe I won't.
02:19Flip it over.
02:21Write who, what, when, where, why is this expense taking place and how much it is.
02:29Put things in an Excel spreadsheet monthly.
02:31If you get your receipts emailed to you, have a folder that's specific to receipts.
02:36Treat this like the biggest party you've ever planned.
02:42What are the colors?
02:43Who's going to be there?
02:44What's the food?
02:45Plan your tax life so that you can keep more of your hard-earned money in your pockets.
02:55This year, there are no penalties for not having health insurance.
03:00There is no penalty for the feds, but there will be a penalty for the state.
03:03The W-4 election process has changed.
03:08You can no longer get a sheet of paper, fill it out, and just turn it in.
03:13You must use the W-4 calculator that you can find at IRS.gov.
03:20If you have any life changes, you had a child, you moved, you want to update that information.
03:27According to the answers that you provide, then your company will withhold more or less taxes.
03:34I'm here with our experts again.
03:37Thank you for joining us ladies, Lauren, Lynn, and Melissa.
03:42Alright, so we have some more taxpayer questions.
03:44You ready for them?
03:45Yes.
03:45Alright, first one is from Naj.
03:47Hi, I'm Naj.
03:48I'm 24 and I'm an IT engineer for Vice Media.
03:51I use the 1040 form on the IRS website and wanted to double check that I filled out everything correctly.
03:56What are some of the most common mistakes I should be aware of?
04:00Great question, Naj.
04:01And that 1040 form does have a lot of ins and outs, so I'm glad we have our experts to
04:06help you with the answer.
04:07Lauren, what would you say in this situation?
04:10So, Naj, I will keep it very simple for you.
04:12Some of the most common mistakes that I've seen are that they've either transposed a number in their social security
04:18number,
04:19they screw up something with their address or within their name, and then especially if you're owed a refund,
04:24make sure your bank account information is correct because God forbid that money goes into someone else's bank account,
04:30it's going to be very difficult to get back.
04:33Oh, wow, I can't even imagine.
04:35Yeah, I have seen it happen.
04:37I'll get that back after it went to the wrong account.
04:39Yeah.
04:39Alright, Lynn, would you have anything to offer?
04:41Make sure the numbers are correct for the income or the expenses or the deductions.
04:47It sounds like probably just have a fresh pair of eyes review everything before you submit it would be the
04:53final step.
04:55Absolutely.
04:55Definitely.
04:56Let's move right along to our last question from Mikayla.
04:59My name is Mikayla Williams. My pronouns are she, her, hers.
05:03I'm 24 years old and I'm from Los Angeles, California.
05:06I work in video production.
05:09It was such a pain to file my taxes this year.
05:12How can I make sure that I don't run into any issues next year
05:15and that, you know, there are no surprises in 2020 that I'm faced with.
05:20Mikayla, great question.
05:21I'm going to hand this one over to you, Melissa.
05:23What advice do you have for Mikayla?
05:25It's, you know, crossing your T's, dotting your I's, making sure you have all the correct forms.
05:30If you have W-2's, you have 1099's, if you have a health insurance form or 1095A, any investments, if
05:37you have interest, dividends, anything like that.
05:39Knowing what you need to file for that year and checking it all off before you submit so you don't
05:46have to amend your return.
05:47It seems like you're doing a lot of freelance work if you're in video production.
05:52One of the worst things that could happen is to find out after the fact that you could have gotten
05:57a deduction,
05:58track your expenses as you go, and I promise you, you'll have a much better time with your taxes next
06:04year.
06:05If, unfortunately, you find yourself continuing to owe money, maybe just sock away a little bit each month
06:11so that that impact in the following year isn't quite as detrimental to your financial health.
06:16I want to hear from each of you. If you had to give one tip or one takeaway, what would
06:21it be?
06:22Always stay organized, track as you go. That's my most important tip.
06:26Organized. Lynn.
06:28Once a month, download your entire bank statement into Excel.
06:33And you can take those numbers and you can import those numbers into almost any software that exists on the
06:39planet.
06:40And then name each one of your expenses.
06:43Melissa.
06:44My biggest piece of advice is to check to make sure at the end of the year you have gotten
06:49all of your W-2s or 1099s.
06:52I find a lot of the time that things are missing.
06:55And another great checks and balances is putting all of your pay stubs against that W-2 or 1099 and
07:00adding it up
07:01and make sure all of the information corresponds.
07:03You're setting yourself up beautifully to have a seamless filing.
07:06Thank you so much for joining us ladies. Your wisdom and knowledge is very valuable.
07:11I know I learned a lot and I'm sure you learned a lot too.
07:14Hopefully you're no longer fearful or feeling anxiety over taxes and you feel a sense of relief and hopefully confidence
07:22to go out and conquer your taxes moving forward.
07:25I'm Brittany Castro wishing you all the best on your financial journey.
07:29I'm Brittany Castro.
07:34Bye.
07:35Bye.
07:35Bye.
07:35Bye.
07:36Bye.
07:36Bye.
07:37Bye.
07:37Bye.
07:37You
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