You would’ve heard by now that the IRS has pushed the 2021 tax filing deadline from April 15th to May 15th. Sure, the COVID-19 situation has complicated several aspects of our daily lives, including taxes. What with working from home and being unable to claim reimbursement for office expenses, you may be feeling even more burdened with all those extra bills.
But there’s still a few ways for you to maximize your tax refund in 2021.
Firstly, while unemployment benefits usually are taxable, they aren’t this year. This is good news given the fact that over 23 million Americans had to file for unemployment over the past year. That means you can claim $10,200 (or $20,400 if you’re married) in unemployment benefits without being taxed for it.
Secondly, lots of us received stimulus checks. Are these taxed? No! Leave them off of your income tax return because stimulus money is not taxable.
What about the new child tax credit we’ve been hearing about lately? If you have children under 5 years old, you can get upto $3,600 until April 2022 per child, and $3,000 for kids between the ages of 6 and 17. For children aged 18-24 and full-time college students, you are entitled to a $500 check. (If you need more details on this child tax credit, click here.)
That’s not all, there are even more tax breaks in store for you if you’re a teacher or if you’ve donated to charity. As a teacher, you can claim upto $250 as COVID-19 expenses for sanitizers, masks and other related supplies. Donating to charity has been incentivized too, as you can claim up to a $300 credit regardless of whether you’ve pegged it down as an itemized or standard deduction.
For more tax filing information, help, and tips, contact the experts at Landmark Tax Service.