I think my mom did my taxes wrong...will I get in trouble even if I don't owe taxes?

Question

I have no assets, no estate etc. I am 21 years old and in college. I made about $6,000 last year. I think my mom filed wrong because she told me she was lazy. I said I would do it myself, but she said that was stupid...

Anyway, I worked several jobs, but I think she didn't file the other ones. Will I get in trouble for this? I think that at tax time, you are either paid, or you need to pay. Right? What determines this.

I feel like I probably won't owe anything, given my age, lack of assets, property etc. Will I still get in trouble?

In response to some comments, yes, she is claiming me as an independent.

i meant DEPENDENT.

Answer 1

Look at your tax return. If it didn't include all of your income, you need to file an amendment. If you don't, you may get a letter from the IRS demanding back taxes, penalties and interest.

Take your original return, and all of your W-2's, to a tax preparer and file the amendment. If you earned $6,000 and were claimed as a dependent, there is a small amount of tax owed. There may be little difference (a small refund, a small balance due) but you will be straight with the IRS.

Answer 2

If some of your jobs weren't included on your return, then eventually you'll get a letter from the IRS with a bill for the additional tax. This would probably amount to about $86.

If you're sure this was done, you should file an amended return including all of your income.

If you just wait for the IRS to catch it, it will likely be months or even over a year, and you could also owe interest and possible penalties by then.

You won't be in trouble, but you will have to pay the extra. If you are a dependent and made $6000 last year, then you'd owe about $86 in tax. If you got everything back, then you're probably right, something was left off your return.

Answer 3

Your age, lack of assets, estate, etc. mean nothing regarding your taxes.
You report your wages, including all of the jobs (each should have sent you a W-2 form), you report the amount of federal income tax withheld (also on the W-2 forms). If you only made $6,000 you should get back all of the federal income tax withheld as a refund. If your mother is not claiming you as a dependent, which she probably still can do, you would also probably get an earned income credit. In other words, you would get back more in refund than you had paid in.
If your mom did your return wrong, you will not get in trouble. If she only reported some of the jobs, not all of them, you would probably get a letter from the IRS saying that you did not report all of your income. You would then respond by re-doing the return, including all of the jobs and sending the new return to them
You want to file your return including all of the jobs, as it will increase the money you will get in your refund.
Do not under any circumstances send in a different return until you have had a response from the IRS. Either a refund check, or a letter. You would totally screw things up by sending in multiple returns before the first was finalized.

Answer 4

Why the hell are you having mommy handle your tax return?? You're an ADULT and have been for several years now. Mommy is NOT responsible for preparing and filing YOUR return. YOU alone are and YOU will be held to task by the IRS if it's not done properly!

If your return didn't reflect all of your income, the IRS will eventually figure this out and bill you for the taxes owed plus penalties and interest for late payment of taxes.

Your age, lack of assets, etc. are totally irrelevant to the situation. Your tax liability is determined by your income alone.

Get your copy of your return and see if all of the income was properly claimed. If it wasn't, you need to file an amended return and pay any additional tax due by April 17, 2007.

Filing an amended return with missing W-2s will usually result in additional tax due with the amended return so do NOT spend your refund when you get it until you've prepared the amended return.

And get out from behind mommy's skirts and take charge of your life. She isn't doing you ANY favors.

Your mom cannot claim you as an "independent." There is no such thing in tax law. She may have claimed you as a dependent. If so, your income ceiling is $5,500 and you will have a tax liability with $6,000 in income. It won't be a lot if you sort things out quickly but any penalties resulting from an incorrect return have an annoying habit of snowballing into a large debt with time.

Answer 5

Once the IRS finds out that you omitted some of your W-2's, they will recalculate your income and taxes. If you owe, they will send you a bill. You don't say whether or not your mom claimed you or if you claimed yourself on taxes, which can make a big difference in whether you end up owing or not. Next year, I would keep all my W-2's and go to the IRS web site and do my own taxes. The IRS web site can direct you to some automated tax sites that make you enter the W-2 information and then calculate whether you owe or not, do all the forms, etc. This year you had to make $52,000 or less to use the free services. :)

Answer 6

Taxes have nothing to do with age nor assets .
Taxes is all about income and since you are over 18 you are legally required to comply with the laws if you have income.
Even if your mom did them , YOU had to sign them .
Did you read what you signed ? Was all the income listed ?
Everyone who uses any preparer is still required to review and sign them.
It is not yet april 15th , get your return from your mommy and do it yourself . . .
Everyone over 18 should also read the 1040 instruction book at least one time so they understand what the process is , what all is considered income and what are deductions.
You can even use the free file from the irs site.

http://www.irs.gov/

1040 stuff about center page , click on the instruction book and start reading

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=118506,00.html

Answer 7

they usally just correct it if they find it and send you a refund or bill you. Call the toll free irs number and explain they have a form for corrections