TAX TIPS (and other stuff): Common tax prep errors

Well, for all you current members of Procrastinators Anonymous (of which I consider myself a member in good standing), here are some helpful tips as your reward for putting off getting your 2010 tax return finished.

So without further ado, here are some common errors for you to be watching out for before sending your return off to the IRS.

1. Not having the correct bank account information for direct deposit of your refund. Get this one wrong, and you will make somebody else happy when your refund shows up in their bank account. 'Nuff said?

2. Not getting you social security numbers correct. This is one of the easiest and most devastating errors to make. Imagine filing your return, waiting, waiting, waiting for your refund and finally getting a nasty notice from the IRS informing you that you never filed your tax return? (Yikes! Oops...!)

3. (and almost a dead heat tie for No. 2), is not using your full name, and/or spelling it incorrectly, instead of exactly as it appears on your social security card. Once again, this can cause a multitude of problems involving receiving IRS notices, not getting credited for social security earnings (if you're self employed), etc. No nicknames allowed here! If your name is "Morton Jefferson-Peabody Corkle Thorndike III", then use it. (If that really is your name, my condolences.)

4. Is filing status errors. Make sure you know what your filing status is. Read the instructions if you're not sure. You may be leaving money on the table in the form of lost Earned Income Credits, etc. if you mess this one up.

5. Is getting dependent name and social security information wrong. Just like Numbers 2 and 3 above, not getting this right could cause the IRS to send you a notice of tax deficiency because they disallowed your dependent due to the information you used not matching the records in the Social Security computers. Listen up! Get this right or suffer the consequences!

6. Is not so common any more, thanks to software being the major tool most of us use to prepare our tax returns these days. BUT, if you prefer to torture yourself by filling out the forms the "old fashioned way", then beware of making math and computation errors. Double, Triple, even Quadruple check your whole return before sending it in.

Finally, don't forget to sign your return if mailing forms, or form 8879 if e-filing!!

Did you know it's always better the next morning? (Whatever nasty "it" you're dealing with.)

• Kelly Bullis is a Certified Public Accountant in Carson City. Contact him at 882-4459.