Tax season is closing in on the April 15 deadline, and a new report says five common mistakes could cost American taxpayers thousands of dollars every year. The errors range from failing to claim deductions and track deductible expenses to misreporting income.
Christina Taylor said people who only think about their returns during filing season miss credits and optimizations they are actually eligible for, “which is how you end up giving part of your refund back to the IRS.” She said Americans overpaid their federal taxes by about $3,200 on average last year and spent billions of dollars and 6.5 billion hours on tax prep.
That is the core warning in a report from GOBankingRates, which breaks down five tax mistakes that can shrink refunds or trigger penalties. The problem is not limited to one bad form or one missed line item. It is often the result of a year’s worth of records left untracked until the deadline is already close. Taxpayers who assume they will take the standard deduction instead of itemizing may fail to keep tabs on charitable contributions, medical expenses and interest expenses that can affect what they owe on their state tax bill.
The same pattern shows up with income from investments and stock compensation. Taxpayers may overpay on gains from investments or from restricted stock options and nonqualified stock options once those shares are sold if they do not report the numbers correctly. Jennifer Kohlbacher said taxpayers often “fail to calculate or report their tax basis correctly,” a mistake that can increase the capital gains taxes owed. For people mailing returns as the deadline approaches, timing can matter too; guidance on postmark changes has already been flagged in our coverage of tax filing deadlines and related state warnings.
What gives this report weight is that it treats tax mistakes as a recurring habit, not a one-day slip. The risk is larger than a smaller refund. A missed deduction, a bad basis calculation or an income reporting error can leave taxpayers paying more than they should long after filing season ends. With April 15 closing in, the real question is not whether the forms can be filed on time, but whether people have kept enough records to file them correctly.
