Common tax return mistakes

10 things to watch for as you prepare your tax return.

1. Incorrect Social Security numbers or misspelled names
2. Using incorrect forms and schedules
3. Wrong filing status
4. Claiming ineligible dependents
5. Misapplied Earned Income Credit and Child Tax Credit
6. Lack of receipts
7. Failure to report all income
8. Not checking for Alternative Minimum Tax
9. Not signing the return – note the taxpayer and the spouse must sign and date the tax return
10. Not attaching Form W-2 and other forms that indicate taxes withheld during the year

Bonus items:

1. Applying for a Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) without W-2 Earned Income
2. Omitting the Social Security Number or EIN of your caregiver for the Child and Dependent Care Credit
3. Mailing the tax return to the wrong address. Here is where to mail tax forms.
4. Making your check payable to the IRS. The correct payee on checks and money orders should be the United States Treasury.
5. Misreading the income tax tables
6. Failure to make a copy of the return for the taxpayer's records
7. Computation errors
8. Incorrect bank account numbers for Direct Deposit
9. Insufficient postage on envelopes. Better yet, use registered mail so there is a record that IRS received your tax return especially if you are paying a balance due.

Here are some other suggestions to avoid tax problems.

Receive an email from the IRS? Delete it

Under most circumstances, I would never recommend to ignore communications from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – except when it comes to emails. Understand this: the IRS will never reach out to taxpayers via email.

In fact, the IRS receives thousands of reports from taxpayers who report receiving suspicious emails, phone calls, faxes from the IRS. Some of them even contain the IRS logo. These goals of these scams – known as phishing – is to trick taxpayers into providing personal information like Social Security numbers and bank accounts in order to commit identity theft.

Still haven't received your W-2? Here's what to do

Employers have until January 31, 2011 to deliver your 2010 Form W-2. If you haven't received it, take these steps

1. Contact your employer. Inquire if the W-2 has been mailed and confirm the address it was mailed to. Allow a reasonable amount of time to re-issue or re-send.
2. Contact the IRS. Contact the IRS for assistance at 800-829-1040. Provide your name, address, city and state, including zip code, Social Security number, phone number and have the following information:
   
   • Employer's name, address, city and state, including zip code and phone number
   • Dates of employment
   • An estimate of the wages you earned, the federal income tax withheld, and when you worked for that employer during 2010. The estimate should be based on year-to-date information from your final pay stub.
3. File your return You still must file your tax return or request an extension to file by April 18, even if you do not receive your Form W-2. If you have not received your Form W-2 by April 18th, and have completed steps 1 and 2, you may attach Form 4852 to the return, estimating income and withholding taxes as accurately as possible. You may be unable to e-file the tax return so be prepared to file your taxes using the old fashioned paper method. There may be a delay in any refund due while the information is verified.