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Taxpayers Beware! These Common Mistakes Could Delay or Block Your Tax Return

Published on: March 25, 2025 at 11:53 PM ET

With Tax season fast approaching, here are important tips from the IRS.

By Divya Verma Edited By Archana Shenoy
Tax return
IRS warns tax payers against common mistakes while filing their annual tax return before April 15. (Image Credit: 401(K) 2013/Flickr)

With April 15 fast approaching, everyone must be ready to file their taxes. However, it’s a tedious task that everyone avoids.

However, as a responsible citizen, it is one’s duty to file tax returns. The government uses the money it receives from taxes to provide a stable economy. Improved infrastructure and security are part of the facilities that enable us to live comfortable lives.

Yet many people believe that taxes are an unneeded burden. And they avoid filing their tax returns. Some might even be unaware of what these returns are.

But fear not, we are here to help. Your gross taxable income for the current fiscal year is displayed on your income tax return. Taxpayers formally report their income, claimed deductions, exemptions, and taxes paid using this form.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is here to help citizens avoid making mistakes. These mistakes could delay or even block their federal tax returns. These mistakes could also prevent people from collecting any tax refunds. To avoid this, the IRS has released a number of instructions.

The first piece of advice from the IRS is to collect important documents. These include W-2s, 1099s, and documentation for tax credits. These also include deductions, such as mortgage interest payments and educational credits.

It is also advised that taxpayers should have papers of previous years handy with them.

Those who file taxes with dependents must be extra careful. They should provide the correct name, birthdate, and Social Security number (SSN) of each dependent separately. The dependent’s name should exactly match the one on their social security card.

An allocated individual tax identification number (ITIN) can also be listed in lieu of a Social Security number (SSN). It is applicable when a spouse or dependant does not have an SSN and is not eligible to get one.

Additionally, taxpayers must report all taxable income including interest income, unemployment benefits, gig economy employment, service industry work, and digital assets.

According to the IRS, if you don’t do it correctly, you could be subject to interest and penalties.

Taxpayers who have chosen to have their federal refund directly deposited into one or more accounts would need to be more careful. They should also confirm that they have provided the necessary banking, routing, and account numbers. These kinds of actions can assist in preventing delays or money being diverted.

To reduce math errors, the IRS prefers that people file their taxes electronically using IRS Free File, Free File Fillable Forms, or Direct File. These programs also identify eligible tax credits or deductions and ask taxpayers for missing information.

However, taxpayers can prepare their taxes on their own and file electronically. They must enter their adjusted gross income from the previous year in order to sign and authenticate their electronic tax return.

If for some reason, one can not file their return by April 15, they can request an extension. A six-month extension to file by October 15 is available. Extensions are not an extension of the time to pay; rather, they provide additional time to file and prevent late filing penalties.

Finally, for their own records and future tax returns, taxpayers should save copies of their signed returns.

For more details, people can visit the IRS official website.

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