These 2 slides will help you understand the basic information about your tax return.

1. How to Understand Your Tax Return 2017
Whydo you have to file mytax return everyyear?
The purpose of filing yourtax returneveryyearisto show that you,as a taxpayer,meetyourlegal
obligationstopaythe government.
What are the timeline forthe filing?
The filingdeadline forthe regulartax returnisApril 15. The yearof 2017 will be differentbecause of two
reasons. April 15, 2017 isSaturday,so the filingdeadlineissupposedlymovedtothe Mondayof
followingweek.However,Monday(April17,2017) isobservedas WashingtonD.C.EmancipationDay.
Therefore,the filingdeadline for2017 return ison April 18, 2017.
You have until midnightof April 18,2017 to file your2016 tax return. In some cases, However,if you
believeyoumay owe the IRS any money forthe year,youmust make yourpayment(estimated
numbers) before April 18, 2017. Otherwise,youwill have topayinterestandpenaltyinadditional to
your original tax liability. Insome cases,youcanrequestfor the extension of time tofile yourtax return
usingthis link.
The Table below will showyouthe costsbenefitsbetweenfilingtax returnyourself andfilingwitha
RegisteredTax Preparers:
Your decisiontogowith: FilingbyYourself FilingwithaRegisteredPreparer
1. Toolsused Software (online /desktopversion) Tax Preparer’ssoftware
2. Cost Varies(Free fromIRSWebsite*) Normallyhigherthancomparedto
filingbyyourself
3. Time Varies1 - 4 hours Usuallylessthan1 hour
4. Tax Refund Varies Maximize yourrefund
5. Tax Liability Varies Minimize yourliability
6. Support Costly Usuallyincludedwithyourfee
Some of the followingtermsyou needtounderstand whenitcomestoIRS Tax documents:
1. EarnedIncome vs.UnearnedIncome:
2. Gross Income
3. Exemptions
4. StandardDeduction
5. ItemizedDeductions
6. W-2 Form (forEmployees)
7. 1099 Form (forIndependentContractors)
8. FilingStatus
a. Single
b. Married
i. FilingJointly
ii. FilingSeparately
c. Headof Household

2. Resources:
My recommendationforfirsttime tax filers(meansyou’ve neverfiledatax returnbefore) isthat:
 First,yougo withyour online oroffline Tax Software tofigure outhow muchtax refundyouwill
receive orhowmuch tax liability(paymenttoIRS) you will needtopay
 Then,youcan confirmyourtax figureswithalocal registeredtax preparers(youmayhave to
pay a fee fortheirservice,butit’swortheverydollaryoupay).
 If your income andfilingstatushaven’tchange fornextyear’stax return,youmaydecide to
prepare andfile yourtax return byyour own.
*IRS Free FilingSoftware
For more information, please gotothe IRS Website andwatchthe videobelow.
If you have an income below$64,000,you can use thisfree file software
If you have an income above $64,000, you can use the free file fillable formshere.