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12 May 2011 By AmyBradney-George

Use 2009 Tax Forms To Help Estimate Tax Payments

12 May

Need To File An Extension For Your Tax Return But Don't Know How To Estimate What Needs To Be Paid? Here We Look At How Your 2009 Tax Forms Can Help.

Although you hope that you are paying the right amount in taxes, you never really know for sure. If your income is set to stay the same this year, you can estimate your tax payments by taking a closer look at your 2009 and 2010 returns when preparing for tax time.

For example, if you earned $50k in 2009 and $50k in 2010 there is a good chance that this will hold true once again 2011. For this reason, all you have to do is look at your past returns to see exactly how much you paid in taxes and what your tax refund was. This will give you a very good idea of what you should be paying this year.

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As you look at your past returns make sure you take inventory of any increases or decreases in income, deductions, and credits. If you earned $50k but had $10k in deductions you will not pay tax on your entire income. Can you expect your deductions to be about the same this year?

How did you file your 2009 tax forms? If you used tax software you are in luck: you can log into your account to review your return. Most tax software providers store old returns so they can be used for reference at a later date. This makes it simple to estimate future tax payments.

Need to file an extension? In this case, you are still required to pay the proper amount of taxes before the deadline. If you don't, you will be hit with a penalty. By using past returns, you can get a better idea of how much you should pay by the deadline. From there, you can move forward at your own pace as you file before the new deadline of October 15th.

Some taxpayers make the mistake of playing the guessing game. In the end, this often times leads to paying not enough or too much in taxes.Rather than guess, use your 2009 and 2010 tax forms to estimate future payments.