The April 15th deadline for federal individual income tax returns is less than a week away, meaning lots of people who haven't filed yet are scrambling to finish (or file for an extension). Rushing to get the return filed can lead to mistakes, and even minor errors can cause a delay in processing by the IRS. Here are eight common errors the IRS wants you to avoid:
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Incorrect or missing social security numbers (including for dependents);
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Misspelled or missing names (including the names of al dependents);
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Incorrect filing status (the choices are: single, joint, married filing separately, head of household, or qualifying widower);
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Math computation errors;
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Errors in calculating credits and deductions;
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Incorrect routing or bank account numbers (for direct deposit of refunds, or payment of taxes owed);
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Failure to sign or date forms (including joint returns which require signatures of both spouses); and
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Errors in electronic signatures (to sign electronically you will need either last year's PIN or adjusted gross income)
For more details, see the full IRS explanations in Tax Tip 2013-51.