TYLER, Texas — Tax season is here. If your income has fluctuated over the past year, Certified Tax Preparer Teri Rogers says staying organized will save filers a world of headache this tax season.
"They need to be gathering all their information and their W2s," said Rogers. "If they had unemployment information, they need to get their 1099G from the unemployment office.”
Last tax season, the IRS didn’t tax the first $10,200 of unemployment paid in 2020. There’s no word yet if that will happen again this year.
Tyler resident Joyce Ponder’s income fluctuates every year. She’s learned from experience how important it is to keep close tabs on your documents and the IRS's fluid filing guidelines.
“Some of us have W2 income, retirement income and other types of income," Ponder said. "After last year, when the IRS changed so many things in the middle of the tax season, I’m kind of expecting a couple of changes."
And if you’ve changed jobs, Rogers says, "hopefully, they filled out their W4 correctly at their new employer and had enough withheld because that can affect your taxes if you did not have enough withheld off your pay stub.”
Rogers can’t stress enough how much larger someone's return could be if they trust a professional to file for them. One of her customers tried to file on her own online.
“It said that she was not going to get anything, said Rogers. "[Then] she came in and she was going to get over $10,000."
The IRS will officially begin accepting tax filings on Jan. 31.