Many families struggling to deal with the financial challenges created by medical conditions or disabilities often find themselves short in cash to pay their taxes.
With the April 15 tax filing due date just a few days away, taxpayers short on cash to pay taxes should remember to both file and if possible pay any taxes they owe by the deadine.
Ideally, taxpayers should pay their taxes by April 15 because those who do not file and pay timely will see their tax debt grow. In fact, penalties and interest can cause a taxpayer’s debt to grow by more than thirty percent in just a few months.
If taxpayers simply can’t scrape together the funds to pay their taxes by April 15, however, the taxpayer still should:
- File their tax return or request an extension of time to file by the April deadline.
Taxpayers who owe tax and do not file their return on time or request an extension may face a failure-to-file penalty for not filing on time. - Pay as much as possible by the April due date.
Whether they are filing a return or requesting an extension, taxpayers must pay their bill in full by the April filing deadline. Taxpayers who do not pay their taxes on time will face a failure-to-pay penalty. Taxpayers should remember that an extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. - Set up a payment plan as soon as possible.
Taxpayers who owe, but cannot pay in full by the deadline don’t have to wait for a tax bill to request a payment plan. - Taxpayers can apply for a payment plan on IRS.gov. Taxpayers can also submit a payment plan request in writing using Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request.
Taxpayers unable to file pay their taxes by April 15 due to a death, medical emergency or other extraordinary situation also may want to ask the Internal Revenue Service to consider waiving some or all of the penalties that otherwise might apply from the untimely action. Taxpayers desiring to ask for a waiver must apply and provide supportive documentation. The decision to grant or deny the application is discretionary with the Internal Revenue Service and usually requires evidence of a significant, unexpected hardship. Timely action to remedy the delay in filing or paying taxes also can impact the Internal Revenue Service’s willingness to consider the request so those affected should act as quickly as possible and be prepared to provide supportive evidence.
The following free resources from the Internal Revenue Services can provide more details.
- Paying Your Taxes
- Tax Topic Number 653 – IRS Notices and Bills, Penalties, and Interest Charges
- What Is the Due Date of My Federal Tax Return or Am I Eligible to Request an Extension?
Taxpayers preparing 2018 tax returns should keep in mind that recent tax law changes that raised the personal exemptions also impacted may previously deductible itemized deductions. The larger exemptions may simplify the ability to complete and file returns for many taxpayers without the complicated process of collecting and calculating amounts that previously only could be claimed through itemized deductions but also may have eliminated the deduction for certain expenditures that previously were deductible by individuals. If you are consider delaying to try to identity additional deductions, confirm the deduction of these expenditures still applies and consider if the deduction that you will qualify for justifies the added time and potential costs for identifying these amounts. In general, however, taxpayers should not delay paying taxes based on the expectation that they will be able to find and claim more deductions by waiting since the potential penalties for delayed payment likely will exceed the benefits. Consequently, the recommended approach generally would be to file and pay taxes based on the known deductions with the understanding that the taxpayer can file an amended tax return when and if the taxpayer finds substantial added deductions at a later date.
We hope this information is helpful. Know other resources? Help empower others by sharing information, resources and other ideas about health, disability and aging challenges, needs, resources and victories on Facebook @projectcopecoation!
About The Author
Recognized by LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell® as a “AV-Preeminent” (Top 1%/ the highest) and “Top Rated Lawyer,” with special recognition as “LEGAL LEADER™ Texas Top Rated Lawyer” in Health Care Law and Labor and Employment Law; as among the “Best Lawyers In Dallas” for her work in the fields of “Health Care,” “Labor & Employment,” “Tax: Erisa & Employee Benefits” and “Business and Commercial Law” by D Magazine, the author of this update is widely known for her 29 plus years’ of work in health care, health benefit, health policy and regulatory affairs and other health industry concerns as a practicing attorney and management consultant, thought leader, author, public policy advocate and lecturer.
Throughout her adult life and nearly 30-year legal career, Ms. Stamer’s legal, management and governmental affairs work has focused on helping health industry, health benefit and other organizations and their management use the law, performance and risk management tools and process to manage people, performance, quality, compliance, operations and risk. Highly valued for her rare ability to find pragmatic client-centric solutions by combining her detailed legal and operational knowledge and experience with her talent for creative problem-solving, Ms. Stamer supports these organizations and their leaders on both a real-time, “on demand” basis as well as outsourced operations or special counsel on an interim, special project, or ongoing basis with strategic planning and product and services development and innovation; workforce and operations management, crisis preparedness and response as well as to prevent, stabilize and cleanup legal and operational crises large and small that arise in the course of operations.
Past Chair of the ABA Managed Care & Insurance Interest Group and, a Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefit Counsel, the American Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation, Ms. Stamer also has extensive health care reimbursement and insurance experience advising and defending health care providers, payers, and others about Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare and Medicaid Advantage, Tri-Care, self-insured group, association, individual and group and other health benefit programs and coverages including but not limited to advising public and private payers about coverage and program design and documentation, advising and defending providers, payers and systems and billing services entities about systems and process design, audits, and other processes; provider credentialing, and contracting; providers and payer billing, reimbursement, claims audits, denials and appeals, coverage coordination, reporting, direct contracting, False Claims Act, Medicare & Medicaid, ERISA, state Prompt Pay, out-of-network and other nonpar insured, and other health care claims, prepayment, post-payment and other coverage, claims denials, appeals, billing and fraud investigations and actions and other reimbursement and payment related investigation, enforcement, litigation and actions. Heavily involved in health care and health information technology, data and related process and systems development, policy and operations innovation and a Scribe for ABA JCEB annual agency meeting with OCR for many years who has authored numerous highly-regarded works and training programs on HIPAA and other data security, privacy and use, Ms. Stamer also is widely recognized for her extensive work and leadership on leading edge health care and benefit policy and operational issues including meaningful use and EMR, billing and reimbursement, quality measurement and reimbursement, HIPAA, FACTA, PCI, trade secret, physician and other medical confidentiality and privacy, federal and state data security and data breach and other information privacy and data security rules and many other concerns.
A former lead consultant to the Government of Bolivia on its Pension Privatization Project with extensive domestic and international public policy and governmental and regulatory affairs experience, Ms. Stamer also is widely recognized for regulatory and policy work, advocacy and outreach on healthcare, education, aging, disability, savings and retirement, workforce, ethics, and other policies. Throughout her adult life and career, Ms. Stamer has provided thought leadership; policy and program design, statutory and regulatory development design and analysis; drafted legislation, proposed regulations and other guidance, position statements and briefs, comments and other critical policy documents; advised, assisted and represented health care providers, health plans and insurers, employers, professional. and trade associations, community and government leaders and others on health care, health, pension and retirement, workers’ compensation, Social Security and other benefit, insurance and financial services, tax, workforce, aging and disability, immigration, privacy and data security and a host of other international and domestic federal, state and local public policy and regulatory reforms through her involvement and participation in numerous client engagements, founder and Executive Director of the Coalition for Responsible Health Policy and its PROJECT COPE: the Coalition on Patient Empowerment, adviser to the National Physicians Congress for Healthcare Policy, leadership involvement with the US-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Association of Business, the ABA JCEB, Health Law, RPTE, Tax, Labor, TIPS, International Life Sciences, and other Sections and Committees, SHRM Governmental Affairs Committee and a host of other involvements and activities. The American Bar Association (ABA) International Section Life Sciences Committee Vice Chair, a Scribe for the ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (JCEB) Annual OCR Agency Meeting, former Vice President of the North Texas Health Care Compliance Professionals Association, past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Section, past ABA JCEB Council Representative, past Board President of Richardson Development Center (now Warren Center) for Children Early Childhood Intervention Agency, past North Texas United Way Long Range Planning Committee Member, and past Board Member and Compliance Chair of the National Kidney Foundation of North Texas, Ms. Stamer has worked closely with a diverse range of health care providers, managed care, insurance and other health care payers, quality assurance, credentialing, technical, research, public and private social and community organizations, foreign and US federal, state and local agencies and others on health care, aging, disability, savings and other process improvement, change management; regulatory affairs and public policy and other concerns.
A Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefit Counsel, the American Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation, Ms. Stamer also shares her thought leadership, experience and advocacy on these and other related concerns by her service in the leadership of the Solutions Law Press, Inc. Coalition for Responsible Health Policy, its PROJECT COPE: Coalition on Patient Empowerment, and a broad range of other professional and civic organizations including North Texas Healthcare Compliance Association, a founding Board Member and past President of the Alliance for Healthcare Excellence, past Board Member and Board Compliance Committee Chair for the National Kidney Foundation of North Texas; former Board President of the early childhood development intervention agency, The Richardson Development Center for Children (now Warren Center For Children); current Vice Chair of the ABA Tort & Insurance Practice Section Employee Benefits Committee, current Vice Chair of Policy for the Life Sciences Committee of the ABA International Section, Past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Section, a current Defined Contribution Plan Committee Co-Chair, former Group Chair and Co-Chair of the ABA RPTE Section Employee Benefits Group, past Representative and chair of various committees of ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits; a ABA Health Law Coordinating Council representative, former Coordinator and a Vice-Chair of the Gulf Coast TEGE Council TE Division, past Chair of the Dallas Bar Association Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Committee, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Southwest Benefits Association and others.
Recognized for her pragmatic and insightful thoughleadership, Ms. Stamer also publishes and speaks extensively on health and managed care industry regulatory, staffing and human resources, compensation and benefits, technology, public policy, reimbursement and other operations and risk management concerns for the American Bar Association, ALI-ABA, American Health Lawyers, Society of Human Resources Professionals, the Southwest Benefits Association, the Society of Employee Benefits Administrators, the American Law Institute, Lexis-Nexis, Atlantic Information Services, The Bureau of National Affairs (BNA), InsuranceThoughtLeaders.com, Benefits Magazine, Employee Benefit News, Texas CEO Magazine, HealthLeaders, the HCCA, ISSA, HIMSS, Modern Healthcare, Managed Healthcare, Institute of Internal Auditors, Society of CPAs, Business Insurance, Employee Benefits News, World At Work, Benefits Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Business Journal, the Houston Business Journal, and many other symposia and publications. She also has served as an Editorial Advisory Board Member for human resources, employee benefit and other management focused publications of BNA, HR.com, Employee Benefit News, Insurance Thought Leadership and many other prominent publications and speaks and conducts training for a broad range of professional organizations.. Health Care Compliance Association, Atlantic Information Service, and others.
For more information about Ms. Stamer or her services, credentials, publications, involvements or presentations, see here or contact Ms. Stamer via telephone at (214) 452-8297 or via e-mail here.
About Solutions Law Press, Inc.™
Solutions Law Press, Inc.™ provides human resources and employee benefit and other business risk management, legal compliance, management effectiveness and other coaching, tools and other resources, training and education on leadership, governance, human resources, employee benefits, data security and privacy, insurance, health care and other key compliance, risk management, internal controls and operational concerns. If you find this of interest, you also be interested reviewing some of our other Solutions Law Press, Inc.™ resources here.
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ndividuals and their caregivers often find negotiating the Social Security disability claims and appeals process cumbersome and confusing at best. While some lucky souls make it through the process on their initial application, many already struggling with diminished capabilities from their disabilities struggle with the cumbersome processes and delays of the complex Social Security appeals process.
Recently, the Social Security ministration has proposed adding back at previously eliminated “reconsideration” process to its appeals proceedings. The reconsideration process requires that a second and related claims review be completed within the Social Security Administration before a claim could proceed to appeal. Traditionally, the use of this procedure was criticized because it was perceived that the second reviewer tended to rubberstamp the initial decision. As a result, reconsideration is predominantly perceived as merely adding an unnecessary procedure and delay to the ability of a claimant to appeal a denial.
Prompted by concerns about the proposal to re-implement the reconsideration requirement and other concerns about Social Security disability claims administration, the US House of Representatives ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee today on Capitol Hill conducted a Hearing on Examining Changes to Social Security’s Disability Appeals Process.
In his opening remarks, Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) told those attending that the disability program has been on GAO’s high risk list primarily because it desperately needs to be modernized. Americans want, need and deserve a disability appeals process that is fair, accurate, and timely. And the decisions should be the same, no matter whether a claim is filed in Texas, Connecticut, or Michigan. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case today.”
Representative Johnson also expressed concern about plans to resume using the reconsideration process as a prerequisite to appeal, stating that the processing time for this step is about 100 days.
Representative Johnson said, “This move would make sure that the appeals process is the same throughout the country but there are real questions about the value of reinstating reconsideration. While some people might get a decision sooner under reconsideration, for others this step is effectively a rubber stamp of the initial decision. It simply further delays their hearing with an Administrative Law Judge.”
Disabled and other individuals concerned about the fairness and efficiency of the Social Security Appeals Procedures may wish to watch the hearing proceedings and follow up by sharing feedback to the Committee members and other Congressional leaders.
CLICK HERE to watch the hearing.
PROJECT COPE: COALITION ON PATIENT EMPOWERMENT 