When kids are out of school, you don’t want them to wander the streets all day. Summer day camps have become extremely helpful for working parents. Now, they are even more helpful when it comes to taxes. These extra expenses for summertime care can actually help you qualify for a tax credit. During school vacation, children under 13 can attend many different types of summer camps. These camps are provided by non-profits, the YMCA, and local churches to name a few. The IRS understands the added expenses, and they want you to know some facts about receiving credit for the camp costs. The five facts are listed below to qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit. 1. The amount of money paid for the day camp can contribute as an expense towards the child and dependent care credit. 2. Overnight camp expenses do not qualify for the credit. 3. Whether your childcare provider is a daycare facility or a sitter outside the home, you'll get some type of tax benefit if you qualify for the credit. 4. Depending on your income, the credit can be up to 35 percent of your qualifying expenses. 5. You may use up to $3,000 of the unreimbursed expenses paid in a year for one qualifying individual or $6,000 for two or more qualifying individuals to figure the credit. These expenses are not exclusive to summer camps. Any childcare expenses that qualify can be used for the Child and Dependent Care Credit. TaxSlayer.com has these instructions built into the program for e-filing federal taxes. The helpful interview process can guarantee you the biggest refund. For more information check out IRS Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses. Please contact TaxSlayer.com if you have any questions about the credit as well.

Scams are everywhere. In hard times, they seem to be especially prevalent, and scams don’t exclude taxes. First of all, email is one of the easiest ways to fall for a scam. The IRS released a recent disclaimer to avoid unsolicited emails about electronic federal tax payments. These scam emails include references to the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). The most recent email claims that tax payments made through this system have been rejected. Then, the email has a link for those that believe they have not paid yet. There is a falsified transaction report in the link. Once it has been clicked on, a virus will be downloaded onto your computer. This particular malware sends personal and financial information from the taxpayer’s computer. The information is then used for identity theft. For these reasons, the IRS and the Financial Management Service (the Treasury bureau that owns EFTPS) does not send direct notices through email. They recommend not opening any links or attachments included with an unknown email. Also, do not reply to the sender that pretends to be from the IRS or EFTPS. According to the IRS website, “EFTPS is a tax payment system that allows individuals and businesses to pay federal taxes electronically via the Internet or phone. It is committed to taxpayer privacy and uses industry-leading security practices and technology to protect taxpayer data.” Identity theft is a huge problem, but there are ways to combat it. There is an IRS strategy for fixing identity theft here. A key term to remember about scams is phishing. Phishing is anything that tricks a person into disclosing personal and financial information for identity through email. Many people are afraid to use online e-file because of fear of loss of personal information. This is a legitimate consideration, but only if you go to websites that aren’t secure and open emails from unknown sources. TaxSlayer knows the ins and outs of security when it comes to taxes. The system is updated constantly to ensure the safest e-filing of taxes in the industry. As long as you stick with the recommended sites for personal tax preparation, you’ll be good to go.

Ever wonder what your refund will be while you’re on the go? TaxSlayer.com has taken care of that with the new phone app. Answer a few simple questions, and you will have an estimate of your tax refund for the year. It’s simple, quick, and easy. The following steps will give you an estimate in no time: • Fill out your filing status • Use a pay stub • Get the results When entering your pay stub, make sure to clarify whether it is weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. When tax season comes around again, use TaxSlayer.com to get the largest refund. There is something to look forward to about taxes. A large refund can be a great start to the new year. It is never too early to start preparing. Package Size:0.091 MBInstall Size:0.17 MB. The app is available on the Droid market, and a push has been made to get it on the IPhone as well. Angry birds, Scrabble, Banking. All of these kinds of phone apps have taken off in popularity. Why not taxes? It may seem a little dry at first, but how many of those other apps guarantee money in your pocket? Companies are getting into the smart phone market, and TaxSlayer.com is no different. We want to reach our customers in every way. This app is completely free too. Taxes may seem intimidating; but the more familiar you become, the easier it will be. If you plan on working your job all year, it makes it even simpler. Paying those federal and social security taxes do have a benefit. Before filing next year, it is crucial that you get your W-2 before finalizing tax preparation. Using a pay stub alone can give you a great estimate, but there are countless cases where people get trigger happy at the beginning of the year by just using their pay stub. This can lead to the dreaded amended return that can delay your refund by weeks. TaxSlayer.com is with you the whole way for tax help. Take a look at the phone app just to get a feel for your refund now. When it comes time, use our services for simple web e-file of taxes.

A common reason customers seek tax help from TaxSlayer is confusion over using their PIN, an identification number that acts as your online signature when you efile your state and federal taxes. The PIN is used on the signature page of the income tax return during the efiling process. The page has two parts, with slightly different rules. The first has to do with your Current Year PIN, a five-digit number you make up during the final stages of tax prep. The second part of the TaxSlayer signature page has to do with your Prior Year information, which is your information from last year. You will need last year’s Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) from your federal taxes OR last year’s PIN number. If you have last year’s AGI, you can go ahead and use it. We recommend actually having a copy of your prior year tax return handy so that you can pull the numbers you need for this year’s return during tax prep. Here is where you find your AGI from last year: Form 1040 EZ – line 4. Form 1040 – line 37. Form 1040 A – line 21. Your Prior Year PIN is the PIN you used while filing last year’s income tax return. If you don’t remember it, you will need to go to the IRS website and request an Alternate PIN, which takes about a minute. Put the Alternate PIN in the spot that says Prior Year PIN. Do not forget to check the box underneath that says you are using an Alternate PIN. Make sure the numbers are correct and in the right places and you should get through using your PIN without needing tax help when you efile.