I Never Got a W-2 (or 1099). Do I Have To Report My Taxes?

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Tony here, I want to tell you about a caller from the other day who had a few questions. The first thing he asked me was, Do I have to file my tax return? And I probed a little bit. And his main question was that he never got a W-2 two from his employer. It also applies if he's an independent contractor and didn't get a 1099. So I explained to him just because your employer or the contractor that has hired you, has not given you a W two or 1099, you are still obligated to report all your tax your all your income on your tax return. It doesn't absolve you from that. Now the other party can get penalized for not doing that.

How Much Do I Need To Make In Order To File A Return?

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The other question he had, regarding whether he had to file or not is the amount of money that he has to make in order to have to file a return? Well, for a single person, for 2020 is right around 12 to $13,000, those are not exact numbers. And it also depends if you're over or under 65 years of age. And then if you're married, it goes up from there.

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But sometimes you want to file a tax return even if you're not going to be charged with taxes. Because sometimes you get money back via refund. So it may be to your advantage to file a tax return.

How Much For A Consultation?

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And then he asked me, How much do you charge for your initial consultation? And I told him like I tell everybody else, I don't charge anybody for the initial consultation, because sometimes I can't even help them. Sometimes all they need is some free advice. But whether it's by phone in or Zoom or in person, I don't charge for initial consultation.

Sometimes clients call over and over again. And and I tell them Look, I don't mind giving you a little bit of advice or initial consultation. But they want to go on an hourly rate after that, I can do that before they decide to hire me. But usually one consultation, what interview does it for them?

How Much Are You Going To Charge Me?

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And then the last thing they asked me was, well, how much are you going to charge me. And what I tell all my prospective clients is, I first have to understand what your situation is. So I will charge a flat fee for an investigation phase. Obviously, the more complex the case, the more I can charge a front. Or if it's a simple case, I charge quite a bit less. And every case is different. So I don't want to give a specific number but it's it's not

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such a high number that you would think it's unfair. It'll just compensate me for the time to understand exactly what you owe in taxes, how long the IRS has to collect, a place to hold on the account and other important things.

How Will That Help Me? 

Also for that same fee, I understand your financial condition. You fill out a form that the IRS uses to determine what you can pay and what you cannot pay. Once I have those two pieces of information, then I will give you a list of all the possible ways that you can resolve your tax debt with the IRS. And then once we decide together what the best option for you is, then I can go to a fee and a payment plan. So those are common types of questions that prospects call me and ask and I hope it's helpful to you.