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How to Get Prior-Year Tax Information

Prior-Year Tax Information

How to Get Prior-Year Tax Information

Tax day 2018 has passed—and for American taxpayers, it was one of the last reminders of 2017. The IRS instructs filers to retain tax information and supporting documents for at least the 3 previous years.

Taxpayers who used tax-filing software for the first time and who don’t have copies of their returns may order tax transcripts of previous-year returns from the IRS. The transcripts provide a summary of a tax return.

Taxpayers seeking to obtain transcripts need to have the amount of their adjusted gross income to validate their identities. For more information, go to Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return.

The IRS advises taxpayers to first check with the provider of the tax software they used or their tax preparer before contacting the agency for the information. The IRS charges a fee for providing prior-year returns. The transcripts, however, are free.

It takes 5-10 days to get tax transcripts ordered online or by phone after the IRS receives the request. It takes about 30 days to get tax transcripts ordered by mail and about 75 days for tax returns.

Here are 3 ways to order transcripts:

  1. Go to Get Transcript on the agency’s website.
  2. Taxpayers may call 800-908-9946.
  3. Taxpayers may use Form 4506-T or Form 4506T-EZ to order by mail.

Tip adapted from IRS.gov[I]

[i] https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/heres-how-to-get-prior-year-tax-information

Financial Readiness for College Graduates

Have a new college graduate? Give your loved one the gift of financial readiness.

This is the time of year when college graduates prepare to make their career dreams and goals a reality. Despite their degrees, however, they may be ill equipped to face financial challenges. According to an ongoing study by the National Financial Educators Council, the average level of financial literacy in 19-24 year olds is 69%.[1]

College graduates may not be as confident in their abilities to earn, save, and invest their money as you had hoped. Here are 3 tips that can help you prepare your new college graduate:

Tip 1: Consider buying them life insurance.

New graduates are typically excited about their independence and sense of accomplishment. You can help by buying life insurance policies in their names. Buying life insurance now also increases your chances to obtain the lowest, initial rates.[2]

College graduates are generally healthier now than they’ll be in 10 years. Policies increase in cost over time and provide added financial security later in life.

Tip 2: Encourage your graduate to focus on college debt repayment.

College loans compel graduates to make repaying their debt a priority. For the class of 2017, the average graduate debt was $39,400, an increase of 6% from the previous year.[3]

Graduates may in rare cases, such as enlisting in the military, be granted a postponement in repaying their college debts.[4]

Encouraging graduates to work with financial professionals in creating debt-management plans is one of the best approaches. Developing a financial plan early in life helps create disciplined habits of responsible money management that should last a lifetime.

Tip 3: Discuss the importance of starting to prepare for retirement.

Just to sustain an annual $40,000 income, one would need to have saved nearly $1.2 million. However, only 25% of millennials say they believe they’ll need at least $1 million to retire comfortably.[5]

While graduates have several decades of income earning potential, reinforcing the discipline of saving and investing for retirement will pay dividends in so many other areas of their life. By starting early in their careers, millennials will have more opportunities to build and meet their retirement goals.

The statistics are bleak: About two-thirds of Americans say they expect to outlive their retirement savings. Nearly a quarter of Americans have nothing saved. About 10% have less than $5,000 saved for retirement.[6]

Helping today’s college graduates avoid becoming part of that statistic will provide a lifetime of benefits.

All families, including college graduates, face financial challenges. If you would like to learn more about preparing financially for every stage in life, we’re happy to help.

Investment advisory services are offered through CapSouth Partners, Inc., dba CapSouth Wealth Management, an independent registered Investment Advisory firm. Information provided by sources deemed to be reliable. CapSouth does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information.  This material has been prepared for planning purposes only and is not intended as specific tax or legal advice.  Tax and legal laws are often complex and frequently change.  Please consult your tax or legal advisor to discuss your specific situation before making any decisions that may have tax or legal consequences.

This article contains external links to third party content (content hosted on sites unaffiliated with CapSouth Partners). The policies and procedures governing these third party sites may differ from those effective on the CapSouth company website, as outlined in these Disclaimers. As such, CapSouth makes no representations whatsoever regarding any third party content/sites that may be accessible directly or indirectly from the CapSouth website. Linking to these third party sites in no way implies an endorsement or affiliation of any kind between CapSouth and any third party, including legal authorization to use any trademark, trade name, logo, or copyrighted materials belonging to either entity.

[1] https://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/national-financial-literacy-test/

[2] https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/100615/getting-life-insurance-your-20s-pays.asp

[3] https://studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics/

[4] https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/deferment-forbearance

[5] https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/16/how-much-money-millennials-think-they-need-to-retire.html

https://aperioncare.com/blog/millennials-on-aging/

[6] https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/11/how-many-americans-have-no-retirement-savings.html

Check out CapSouth Wealth Management blogs at http://capsouthwm.com/blog/

Thy Will Be Done

“Daddy, what happens when you die?” Yep, I got the question every God-fearing father wants to hear from his young son. And when it comes, it’s usually when you’re least expecting it. And of course, you pray that you’ll handle it as well as your father handled it and as well as his father before him. And not long ago, it happened to me. Just walking through the park one Saturday morning.  As you can imagine, I’d been preparing for this talk for years. Not breaking his gaze, I knelt down, took his hands in mine and told him what we all know to be true:

“Well son, with a properly written will, your estate will be distributed in accordance with your wishes – not at the discretion of the state.”

And there it was, with the full weight of truth. He was so moved by my response, apparently, he could only manage an inquisitive, “Huh?”   Bless his heart, I thought, he’s at a loss for words. As was I. It’s not every day someone asks about estate planning. But it should be. So now let me ask you, what’s going to happen when you die? Still not hitting home? How about this:  Who will take care of your young children? What will happen to your assets? To whom will they go? Some of you are so sharp and so on top of things, you had the answers to these questions before you finished reading them. But let me be more specific, are those wishes recorded in your will? No? I had a boss once tell me, “I’m not interested in what you say you’re going to do, I’m interested in what you’ve done.”   Write a will. It’s as close to having a voice after you’re gone as you’re going to have.

5 reasons why you should have your will in place:

  1. You get to decide who’ll take care of your children – or to put it another way – you decide who won’t.   (OR…you could just forget about the will and leave it up to the court. After all, kids are resilient, I’m sure they’ll be fine.)
  2. You get to decide how your estate will be distributed. (OR…forget the will, save the money, and just let your family duke it out. It’ll be a nice distraction from the grief.)
  3. Because as life changes, so can your will. (Change your mind? Then change your will.)
  4. You diminish the chance for legal challenges. “But mama told me she wanted me to have the __________ .“ (Insert object of potential/likely family conflict here.)
  5. A will protects against a potentially lengthy probate process. Whether you have a will or not, your estate will go through the probate process. The will serves as your “instructions” to the court. (And we all know how well things turn out without instructions.)

There are several other reasons, too, ranging from possible estate tax implications to the naming of an Executor who will handle the affairs of your estate once you’re gone. But if you could get past the first two without a pain in the pit of your stomach, then none of the rest will likely mean anything to you. But if a chord was struck as you read this article, please look into it.  It doesn’t have to be Shakespearean, but it will have to be signed. And that’s easier to do while you’re alive.   And afterwards, when someone asks you what happens when you die, you’ll have two potentially great pieces of news for them.

Give us a call. We can help.

Billy McCarthy is a Wealth Manager with CapSouth Wealth Management in Dothan, Alabama.

Contact Billy at 334.673.8600 or  http://capsouthwm.com/our-team/billy-mccarthy/

Investment advisory services are offered through CapSouth Partners, Inc., an independent Registered Investment Advisory firm, dba CapSouth Wealth Management. Nothing contained in this article is intended as, nor should be construed as, an individual investment recommendation.

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