Why Do I Owe State Taxes

This may come as a shock, but even if you calculate you have a tax refund status it doesn’t mean you’ll get it. There are, in fact, quite a few situations in which you will never see that money! It can be anything from garnishment to simple errors. Here are five things to look out for if you want to make sure your money finds its way into your pocket.

1. There Was An Error
You thought you had everything right on your tax return form. However, it turns out you forgot to carry the 1 in one calculation. This in turn messed up the rest of the form. Unfortunately, because of these errors, your state tax office starts to charge fees. If these fees on your account are enough to wipe out your tax refund status, then you’ll never see that money.

2. You Planned Your Finances
Planning how much to take out of your wages each month means you won’t get a huge refund status check come tax season. However, this is actually a good thing! Trying to get your taxes to break even at tax time means you have more money through the rest of the year. This means less headache worrying about bills. It also cuts out the need to wait for a huge tax refund status check to come in and save you.

3. You Owe Past Debts
Do you owe anything from last tax season? How about alimony or child support? If so, there might be a note on your account to hold your refund status money. Your state tax office will work with collection agencies to garnish your funds if you owe anything from years past. If the amount is large enough, then you won’t see any of your tax refund status money.

The best way to avoid this scenario is to pay your past debts. Keep all your accounts up to date to make sure you get your refund status money in your pocket instead of watching it go straight to a collection agency.

4. You Get Scammed
Hopefully this hasn’t happened to you, but it’s a harsh reality for thousands of taxpayers each year. Scammers are out there and they want your tax refund status funds! They will do anything they can to grab it right out of your hand ‘ or even your bank account.

Keep up on the latest tax tax refund status scams so you don’t accidentally give up vital info to a crook. Keep in mind your state tax office, like the IRS, should only contact you through the mail. If you get an email or phone call claiming to be from them, it’s more than likely a scam to get your refund status money.

5. Your State is Broke
The economy has hit everybody, including individual states. In 2009, states like North Carolina were having such problems that taxpayers living there didn’t see their refund status funds for quite a while!

If your state is simply too strapped for cash to pay, then you may never see the money from your tax refund status. Luckily no states have had to go this far yet, but if things don’t start to improve, you may get a nasty shock this tax season.

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