8. Failure to Report Extra Income
It’s more and more common these days for people to have several different income sources. If you freelance occasionally or were paid for a small project on the side, you need to report that income. Employers are only required to send you 1099 for freelance income over $600, however, you are still responsible for declaring ALL of your income even if you don’t get 1099.
9. Charitable Donations
Many charitable donations are tax-deductible, so be sure to declare what you can. On the flip side, don’t try to get creative with padding the dollar amount—an unusually high number here is something the IRS red flags for a possible audit.
10. Failure to Declare Last Year’s Refund
This one can be confusing. You do not need to declare last year’s federal tax refund as income this year. However, in some cases, you may need to declare state and local tax refunds as income on both federal and state returns the following year.
