Astound Tax Solutions-Tera Hennesy

01/06/2026

🧾 COMMON TAX FORMS — EXPLAINED SIMPLY!

If you’ve received any of these forms in the mail or email, DON’T ignore them! 👀

Here’s what they mean and why they matter when filing your taxes:

📘 1098-T
🎓 Education Form
➡️ Shows college tuition paid or billed.
✅ May qualify you for valuable education credits like the American Opportunity Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit.

📘 1099-G
💸 Government Payments
➡️ Used for unemployment income or state refunds.
📌 Yes, unemployment is taxable in many cases — and this form must be reported to the IRS.

📘 1099-INT
🏦 Bank Interest Income
➡️ Shows how much interest your bank paid you this year.
💰 Even if it’s just a few dollars, it’s still taxable and must be included in your return.

💡 Bring these docs with you so we can help maximize your refund and keep you IRS-compliant.
✨ We make taxes simple, secure, and worth your while.

01/06/2026

Head of Household vs Single (Myth Busting)

Let’s clear the air about the “Head of Household” myth.
Having kids does NOT automatically mean you qualify for Head of Household. And choosing HOH “because it gives a bigger refund” can get your return flagged.

✅ What Head of Household REALLY means (in plain English)

To file Head of Household, you generally must:
1. Be unmarried (or “considered unmarried”) on the last day of the year, and
2. Have a qualifying person (usually your child/dependent) who lived with you more than half the year, and
3. Pay more than half the cost of keeping up the home

🏠 “Keeping up a home” includes (IRS-backed)

Examples: rent, mortgage interest, real estate taxes, home insurance, repairs, utilities, and food eaten in the home.
(That’s what people forget — it’s not just “I pay rent so I’m HOH.”)

🚫 What does NOT count as “keeping up a home”

clothing, education, medical, vacations, life insurance, transportation

⚠️ Important note about assistance (this is where folks get confused)

If public assistance helped pay household costs, you can’t count that as money you paid, but it may still be included in the total home cost when determining whether you paid over half.

✅ When “Single” is the right choice

If you’re unmarried but don’t meet ALL HOH requirements, you file Single. Period.

A correct return beats a “bigger” refund that gets adjusted later.
If you’re not sure which one you qualify for, comment “HOH” or DM me and I’ll tell you what documents we need to verify it.

01/06/2026

🚨 STOP using “household employee” to chase a bigger refund.

Schedule H is not a credit and it’s not for everybody.
It’s used when you actually paid a household employee—like a nanny, babysitter, caregiver, housekeeper—and you are required to report those wages and household employment taxes.

If you didn’t:
• Pay a household employee legit
• Have records (name, address, SSN/ITIN)
• Track wages and dates paid
…then Schedule H likely does not apply.

❗Claiming it the wrong way can lead to:
• IRS letters and audits
• Credits removed
• Penalties + interest
• Refund delays or freezes

Don’t let a “bigger refund” turn into a bigger problem.

01/06/2026

01/06/2026

VS

This is why it’s important to wait. You could be incorrectly reporting income and risking an audit.. Then next thing you know, you will be blaming your preparer!!

This why we wait!

01/06/2026

🚨 BEFORE YOU FILE YOUR TAXES! DO THIS FIRST 🚨

🛑 Don’t get caught off guard by a surprise offset. Before filing your return, CALL the Treasury Offset Program Line:

📞 1-800-304-3107
Available 24/7, confidential, and automated.

This line will let you know if your refund could be reduced or taken due to debts such as:

• Back taxes
• Child support
• Defaulted federal student loans
• State debts
• Unemployment overpayments

👀 Knowing before you file = peace of mind and fewer refund surprises.

01/05/2026

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