{"id":296,"date":"2015-04-10T15:05:17","date_gmt":"2015-04-10T19:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.etax.com\/?p=296"},"modified":"2015-03-16T15:06:26","modified_gmt":"2015-03-16T19:06:26","slug":"most-common-tax-filing-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Common Tax Filing Mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

When tax time rolls around, you\u2019ll probably be anxious to file your return and claim any refund allotted to you. However, many taxpayers fail to fill out their return accurately, which can lead to a delay in processing. It\u2019s important to double check your return before submitting to make sure all the information provided is correct, and that all areas of the return are filled in as needed. When you file your return this year, be sure to avoid the seven common tax mistakes listed below.<\/p>\n

Not Including Your Signature<\/strong><\/p>\n

Similar to other forms you fill out, when you\u2019ve completed them, all you have to do is sign on the dotted line to make it official. Interestingly enough, this is one of the most commonly forgotten lines on a tax return. Electronic filing cuts down on this mistake, because you can\u2019t submit the return unless it\u2019s digitally signed. If you use a paper form, don\u2019t overlook the signature of all parties, either you or you and your spouse if filing jointly.<\/p>\n

Incorrect Social Security Number<\/strong><\/p>\n

You probably know your own social security number as well as your birthdate or phone number. However, many taxpayers enter incorrect numbers for their children, relatives, or spouses when filling out their tax return. Always double check the number against the official card to avoid delay.<\/p>\n

Choosing the Wrong Status<\/strong><\/p>\n

Determining if you\u2019re married or single is pretty simple. Often, the Head of Household status causes the issue for single filers. The IRS has seen a rise in divorced parents with minor children illegally claiming the dependent, either intentionally or not.<\/p>\n

Not Knowing Your Name<\/strong><\/p>\n

The IRS says the incorrect name on tax returns is more common than many people realize. Misspellings and changes in surname (due to marriage, etc.) are typically the reason why a taxpayer\u2019s return wouldn\u2019t match what the IRS has on file.<\/p>\n

Credit and Deduction<\/a> Errors<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s pretty simple for a taxpayer to claim a deduction that they don\u2019t actually qualify for, or to bypass a credit that they are entitled to. The IRS states that the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child and Dependent Care Credit and the standard deduction are the most often abused, and the most often neglected. Because the tax code gets more complicated each year, it\u2019s easy to understand why confusion amounts in this area.<\/p>\n

Accounting Mistakes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Electronic filing not only reminds you to sign your form. It also helps cut down on mathematical errors. Those who file with pen and paper are 20 times more susceptible to making an error in the numbers. No matter what method you use you should always double check your figures.<\/p>\n

Incorrect Bank Account<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like the social security number, many people often submit the wrong bank account when requesting direct deposit<\/a> of their refund. One wrong number is all it takes to delay your return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When tax time rolls around, you\u2019ll probably be anxious to file your return and claim any refund allotted to you. However, many taxpayers fail to fill out their return accurately, which can lead to a delay in processing. It\u2019s important to double check your return before submitting to make sure all the information provided is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[310,309,311],"class_list":["post-296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-filing","tag-common-mistakes","tag-mistakes","tag-tips"],"yoast_head":"\nMost Common Tax Filing Mistakes - eTax.com\u00ae Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Most Common Tax Filing Mistakes - eTax.com\u00ae Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When tax time rolls around, you\u2019ll probably be anxious to file your return and claim any refund allotted to you. However, many taxpayers fail to fill out their return accurately, which can lead to a delay in processing. It\u2019s important to double check your return before submitting to make sure all the information provided is […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eTax.com\u00ae Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTaxcom-135749976483724\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-10T19:05:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/10\\\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/10\\\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ddb9378caffbf2f32f89a84d213b3ef4\"},\"headline\":\"Most Common Tax Filing Mistakes\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-04-10T19:05:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/10\\\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":491,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"common mistakes\",\"mistakes\",\"tips\"],\"articleSection\":[\"General Filing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/10\\\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/10\\\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Most Common Tax Filing Mistakes - eTax.com\u00ae Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-04-10T19:05:17+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/10\\\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/10\\\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/10\\\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Most Common Tax Filing Mistakes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"eTax.com\u00ae Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"eTax.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/44729_463802350345150_698036533_n.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/44729_463802350345150_698036533_n.png\",\"width\":225,\"height\":225,\"caption\":\"eTax.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/eTaxcom-135749976483724\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/AskETAX\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/855ASKETAX\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ddb9378caffbf2f32f89a84d213b3ef4\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Most Common Tax Filing Mistakes - eTax.com\u00ae Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Most Common Tax Filing Mistakes - eTax.com\u00ae Blog","og_description":"When tax time rolls around, you\u2019ll probably be anxious to file your return and claim any refund allotted to you. However, many taxpayers fail to fill out their return accurately, which can lead to a delay in processing. It\u2019s important to double check your return before submitting to make sure all the information provided is […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/","og_site_name":"eTax.com\u00ae Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTaxcom-135749976483724\/","article_published_time":"2015-04-10T19:05:17+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ddb9378caffbf2f32f89a84d213b3ef4"},"headline":"Most Common Tax Filing Mistakes","datePublished":"2015-04-10T19:05:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/"},"wordCount":491,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["common mistakes","mistakes","tips"],"articleSection":["General Filing"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/","name":"Most Common Tax Filing Mistakes - eTax.com\u00ae Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-04-10T19:05:17+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/10\/most-common-tax-filing-mistakes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Most Common Tax Filing Mistakes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/","name":"eTax.com\u00ae Blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"eTax.com","url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/44729_463802350345150_698036533_n.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/44729_463802350345150_698036533_n.png","width":225,"height":225,"caption":"eTax.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTaxcom-135749976483724\/","https:\/\/x.com\/AskETAX","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/855ASKETAX"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ddb9378caffbf2f32f89a84d213b3ef4","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":297,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions\/297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}