WASHINGTON (Lawfuel) — Taxpayers who have filed their federal income tax returns and are expecting their refunds can use the Internal Revenue Service’s online tool, “Where’s My Refund?,” to check on the status of their refunds.

“Where’s My Refund?” is fast, easy, safe and convenient. Nearly 9.7 million taxpayers have checked the status of their 2007 federal income tax refunds online, up about 18 percent over the same time period last year.

To get to personalized refund information, taxpayers should be ready to enter their:

Social Security Number (or Taxpayer Identification Number),
Filing status (Single, Married Filing Joint Return, Married Filing Separate Return, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er)),
Exact refund amount shown on their tax returns.
Taxpayers can check on the status of their refund seven days after e-filing a return. For a paper return, check four to six weeks after mailing the return.

“Where’s My Refund?” also includes links to customized information based on a taxpayer’s specific situation. For example if “Where’s My Refund?” shows that the IRS was unable to deliver a refund, a taxpayer can change his or her address online. Taxpayers can avoid undelivered refund checks by having their refunds directly deposited into a personal checking or savings account.

If 28 days have passed after the IRS says it mailed a refund check, “Where’s My Refund?” enables taxpayers to initiate a trace.

New this year Spanish-speaking taxpayers can get information about the status of their federal refunds using Dónde Está mi Reembolso? available by entering the Spanish language area of the web site by clicking the Espanol link on IRS.gov. The refund trace and address change features are only available in English at this time.

Taxpayers without internet access can check the status of their refunds by calling the IRS TeleTax System at 800-829-4477 or the IRS Refund Hotline at 800-829-1954. The TeleTax refund information is updated each weekend. If you do not get a date for your refund, please wait until the next week before calling back.

Where’s My Refund? is also accessible to visually impaired taxpayers who use the Job Access with Speech screen reader used with a Braille display and is compatible with different JAWS modes.

Some scam artists are sending phony emails, including those relating to “Where’s My Refund?”, to trick individuals into revealing personal financial information that can be used to access their financial accounts. People who want to access the genuine IRS Web site and the “Where’s My Refund?” feature should go directly to the IRS Web site by typing the address, www.irs.gov, into the address` line of their Internet window. The only genuine IRS Web site is IRS.gov.

WASHINGTON (Lawfuel) — The Internal Revenue Service today launched a campaign to help educate new self-employed small business owners about federal tax responsibilities.

The campaign kick-off coincides with the Small Business Administration’s annual Small Business Week, April 21-25, which recognizes outstanding small business owners for their contributions to the nation’s economy and their personal achievements.

“One of the biggest challenges faced by people starting out in business is understanding and meeting their tax filing requirements,” said Kathy Petronchak, commissioner of the IRS’s Small Business/Self-Employed operating division. “It’s a new, different and potentially overwhelming experience for them. We want new small business owners to know that the IRS has resources to help them learn about their federal tax responsibilities and avoid common pitfalls.”

The campaign will provide new Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business, filers with improved and updated educational materials through a variety of channels, including IRS.gov, small business workshops and other outreach events.

Schedule C is filed by sole proprietors (one-owner businesses) as an attachment to their Form 1040 individual income tax return. Self-employed individuals with less complex situations – including business expenses of less than $5,000, no net losses and no employees – may be able to file Schedule C-EZ, Net Profit for Business.

About one in seven federal income tax returns includes a Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ. Taxpayers filed over 21 million Schedules C for tax year 2006, reporting overall net profits from sole proprietorships totaling more than $269 billion.

In this introductory phase of the campaign, IRS is offering some basic tips to avoid potential problems:

Classify workers properly as employees or independent contractors as determined by law, not the choice of the worker or business owner;
Deposit federal employment taxes, called trust fund taxes, according to the appropriate schedule;
Start making quarterly estimated-tax payments to cover your own income tax and social security self-employment tax liability;
Keep good records to protect your personal and financial investment and to make tax filing easier;
Consider a tax professional to help you with Schedule C;
File and pay your taxes electronically; it’s fast, easy, and secure;
Protect financial and tax records to ensure business continuity in the event of a disaster; and
Avoid abusive tax avoidance schemes such as the IRS’s 2008 “Dirty Dozen.”