IRS Tax Filing Rules

Last updated on March 18, 2023

Before filing taxes, you need to consider where your income is coming from. If any part of your income comes from one of the U.S. possessions, then you need to comply with certain specific tax rules. The U.S. possessions with specific tax rules are American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

When filing a tax return, taxpayers need to include their income from all the sources. To lower their tax liability, taxpayers can make use of tax credits and deductions where eligible. Making use of major tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, can potentially bring down your tax bill by a considerable amount.

Tax filing can either be done electronically or by mailing a paper tax return to the IRS. Electronic tax filing is free at the IRS website: IRS.gov. It is best to file the return as early as possible, especially if sending your return through the post. Leaving filing until the April 15^th deadline can cause errors and may expose you to tax scams such as identity theft.

Many taxpayers use the services of a professional tax preparer to prepare tax returns because it saves both time and effort, but even if you are preparing taxes yourself, make sure that you understand any changes to the tax filing rules made in the last year.