The federal government requires everyone to file their taxes once a year. What exactly does this mean and why do we have to do this? Filing your taxes means that you send your money to the federal government in order to fund certain projects, like welfare, but don’t worry, you’ll get money back depending on your yearly income and how much you paid on your taxes. If you have a very low income, then you will more than likely not receive any notice with regards with having to pay the federal government. Here are the steps to file your taxes, according to an eHow column.

First off, you will need to gather a few things. You will need a calculator, an IRS form, internet, a computer, and an affordable tax preparation software unit. Once you have all of these items, it’s time to get to work. Next step is to determine which status you would want to qualify for. You will need to make a certain amount by the end of the year to be qualified under a certain status. Some statuses can be better than others, so use a wise status that best fits your income.

Next, with your handy-dandy calculator, calculate how much your income, deductions, and income adjustments come out to. Depending on how much the deductions and income adjustments come out to will benefit by sending less taxes to the government. Your next step is to figure out your income tax by looking at a tax table. You will need subtract your income tax by the adjustments, deductions, and exemptions, and you will figure out how much you owe. A good thing to remember when filing for your taxes is to make sure you have good credit. If the credit hits a good number, then the federal government could exempt some money from your taxes.

Don’t get too crazy yet, because we’re not finished yet, but we’re very close. The next step is to find out if you overpaid or underpaid on your taxes. If you overpaid, then you could get that money back, but if you come up on short, you could be fined since it would appear as a late notice. So, when it comes to your taxes, triple check all of your work. The final thing to do while filing your taxes is to take out that IRS form and fill everything out. From there, your software program will help guide you the rest of the way and you will be in good shape.

Although filing taxes is a very complex strategy of steps, it is a piece of cake once you know the steps while you’re filing them. Even when it seems stressful, just know that you’ll be getting one small step of adulthood down.