Yes, you can wait until 2020 to file your 2018 income tax return. However, if you owe additional taxes for 2018, you will pay a failure to file penalty, a failure to pay penalty, and interest. If you are due a refund, there are no penalties.
But to be clear you have to file it on a 2018 return. You can't just add it to your 2019 return next year. You have 3 years to file if you are getting a refund.
I owe the state one dollar will that rise by alto if I wait until 2020 to file
Possibly. Why not just do the state form by hand and send it in?
If you've filed your return and need to add additional information, then you will have to prepare an amended return in TurboTax.
If you used TurboTax Online, simply log in to your account and select “Amend a return that was filed and accepted.”
If you used our CD/download product, sign back into your return and select “Amend a filed return.” You must file a separate Form 1040X for each tax return you are amending.
I already filed 2019 taxes on TurboTax n I'm trying to file 2018
@CoreT34 wrote:
I already filed 2019 taxes on TurboTax n I'm trying to file 2018
To complete and file a 2018 tax return using TurboTax you would need to purchase, download and install on a personal computer one of the 2018 desktop editions from this website - https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/past-years-products/
No, you should file your 2018 tax returns as soon as possible. The reply by @DoninGA provides you with the information you need to file your 2018 tax return.
My understanding is that you can. I used a 1040-SR form and freefile TurboTax for 2019 tax return. I found a printable 2018 1040 form online and filled it in by hand. Looks like I send both to the same place, so I'm mailing them together. (I always have to mail my returns -- I think it's because my income is so low). My tax returns are extremely simple. Just Social Security and Standard Deduction, and nothing else. I don't owe anything. For future viewers, as I write this we are going through a Covid-19 outbreak nationwide. There has been talk of some cash payments from the government for expenses and losses due to the virus pandemic. I have read the amount of the payments will be based on income as reported and verified in 2018 tax returns. I don't have to file, but I will file every year from now on. I hope I won't miss out on any help. I haven't lost as much as many workers, but it definitely has cost me due to shortages of supplies and the need to help family. And I worry every month if I'll make it to my next Social Security payment in normal times, so anything extra means something else has to be cut. I'm keeping saved and printed copies (signed) with the mailing date. If you are able to submit electronically, you can keep track of it that way.
If you are getting a tax REFUND you have up to three years from the filing deadline to file your return and still receive the refund. If you had tax due--tax owed to the IRS---then missing the filing deadline and not paying means penalties and interest that begin with the filing deadline.
Putting two years of returns in the same envelope risks that the worker who opens the mail misses one. You should mail each year in its own envelope. It is also a good idea to use a mailing service that tracks it so you know your return is received.
It seems you are filing these returns because you believe it has something to do with stimulus checks that may be issued. Keep in mind that nothing has been decided or voted on yet by Congress. We do not know yet how the program will be handled and whether filing a tax return is required.
Can I still file my 2018 tax via efile or does it need to be physically sent in? As I understand things, filing a 2018 tax return is a requirement of the new stimulus package. Thanks
@TiminNJ Actually
no one knows
all the requirements to receive a stimulus check since it is still being debated in Congress. Right now it is still in the Senate. The House of Representatives is not even in Washington DC yet to vote on it. The rumors abound among the people awaiting checks, though.. ...
But about filing 2018:
Online preparation and e-filing for 2018 is permanently closed.
To file a return for a prior tax year
If you need to prepare a return for 2016, 2017, or 2018 you can purchase and download desktop software to do it, then print, sign, and mail the return(s)
https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/past-years-products/
Remember to prepare your state return as well—if you live in a state that has a state income tax.
When you mail a tax return, you need to attach any documents showing tax withheld, such as your W-2’s or any 1099’s. Use a mailing service that will track it, such as UPS or certified mail so you will know the IRS/state received the return.
Note: The desktop software you need to prepare the prior year return must be installed/downloaded to a full PC or Mac. It cannot be used on a mobile device.
If you are getting a refund, there is not a penalty for filing past the deadline. If you owe taxes, the interest/penalties will be calculated by the IRS based on how much you owe and when they receive your return and payment. The IRS will bill you for this; it will not be calculated by TurboTax.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900990-how-do-i-file-a-prior-year-tax-return
Do I need to file my 2018 & 2019 tax return to get the stimulus check? I havent files yet for those yrs.
Non-filers: Haven't filed a tax return for a previous year? Take steps now.
The IRS encourages anyone with a tax filing obligation who hasn't filed a tax return for 2018 or a previous year to act now. – Pending legislation includes certain potential credits and rebates for those who have filed a return for 2018 and/or 2019. Those without 2018 tax filings on record could potentially affect mailings of stimulus checks. And more than 1 million people who haven't filed tax returns for Tax Year 2016 and are owed a refund still face an April 15, 2020, deadline to file their return. This deadline hasn't been extended. Current law requires the 2016 return to be filed by April 15, 2020.
Many non-filers should consider contacting a tax professional to consider various available options since the time to receive such refunds is limited by statute. Once delinquent returns have been filed, most taxpayers have the opportunity to resolve any outstanding liabilities by entering into an Installment Agreement or an Offer in Compromise with the IRS to obtain a "Fresh Start." See IRS.gov for further information.
Source: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-operations-during-covid-19-mission-critical-functions-continue
It would be a pretty good idea to get that accomplished. Only a 2019 return can be done on the online program. The only tax return that can be e-filed is 2019. Earlier years have to be printed, signed and mailed.
Online preparation and e-filing for 2018 is permanently closed.
To file a return for a prior tax year
If you need to prepare a return for 2016, 2017, or 2018 you can purchase and download desktop software to do it, then print, sign, and mail the return(s)
https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/past-years-products/
Remember to prepare your state return as well—if you live in a state that has a state income tax.
When you mail a tax return, you need to attach any documents showing tax withheld, such as your W-2’s or any 1099’s. Use a mailing service that will track it, such as UPS or certified mail so you will know the IRS/state received the return.
Note: The desktop software you need to prepare the prior year return must be installed/downloaded to a full PC or Mac. It cannot be used on a mobile device.
If you are getting a refund, there is not a penalty for filing past the deadline. If you owe taxes, the interest/penalties will be calculated by the IRS based on how much you owe and when they receive your return and payment. The IRS will bill you for this; it will not be calculated by TurboTax.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900990-how-do-i-file-a-prior-year-tax-return
Online preparation and e-filing for 2018 is permanently closed.
To file a return for a prior tax year
If you need to prepare a return for 2016, 2017, or 2018 you can purchase and download desktop software to do it, then print, sign, and mail the return(s)
https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/past-years-products/
Remember to prepare your state return as well—if you live in a state that has a state income tax.
When you mail a tax return, you need to attach any documents showing tax withheld, such as your W-2’s or any 1099’s. Use a mailing service that will track it, such as UPS or certified mail so you will know the IRS/state received the return.
Note: The desktop software you need to prepare the prior year return must be installed/downloaded to a full PC or Mac. It cannot be used on a mobile device.
If you are getting a refund, there is not a penalty for filing past the deadline. If you owe taxes, the interest/penalties will be calculated by the IRS based on how much you owe and when they receive your return and payment. The IRS will bill you for this; it will not be calculated by TurboTax.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900990-how-do-i-file-a-prior-year-tax-return
I have a question to add to the discussion. I need to file for 2017 and 2018. Actually I've already used the software to create my previous year returns, and I have them in PDF format. Does anyone recommend any Services that will send it certified mail for you. For what I can tell USPS has no online service. I believe their site suggests click2mail, but their site seems overly complicated. I really don't understand why companies like Turbotax only offer to mail it from a location. Why not just save your customer's the hassle and offer to mail it for an additional fee
We are quarantining after all
"I really don't understand why companies like Turbotax only offer to mail it from a location. "
TurboTax does not offer to mail your returns.
The IRS wants you to e-file returns (of course, this works only for the current year). TurboTax keeps prices down by e-filing your return as often as possible.
If TurboTax were to have a print and mail facility, it would have to increase prices.
Besides, as you may now know, prior year returns on done with the CD/download software that is installed on your computer. TurboTax does not have a copy of your return in that case, so could not print and mail it anyway.
"For what I can tell USPS has no online service. " - you mean that USPS does not deliver email? No, it does not.
The special arrangement that the USPS has is the "mailbox rule", that is, when you drop your printed tax return (in a stamped envelope, of course) into a mailbox, it is considered delivered. You may - but or not required to - use a USPS service like certified mail or proof of mailing to show that the USPS in fact got the tax return to deliver.
The IRS has also certified a few delivery services to deliver tax returns with the same sort of rule - once it is accepted by the delivery company, it is considered "mailed". Please see this IRS website.