5 ways California tax filers leave money on the table

Just a few days remain until the April 15th deadline to file your income tax returns.  KPCC checked in with a couple of tax experts for some last minute advice. Below are five quick-and-dirty tips to make sure you get the most from your filing:

Filing for an extension

If you're in desperation mode now, you're probably thinking about asking the government for more time.  

You're not alone.

The most recent stats from the IRS show that in the 2012 tax year, 11 percent of Californians filing individual returns filed for an extension.

Filing for an extension by completing form 4868 will give you another six months to get your paperwork in order, but don't fool yourself. This doesn't mean you get to put off paying your tax bill.  

“You need to figure out what you’re going to owe — if you’re going to owe — and then send that money in with the extension, by April 15," says financial planner Louis Barajas.  If you don't pay up, you could face a penalty of 5 percent of what you wind up owing per month.  

"I think the biggest problem is, when people feel that they don’t have the money to pay, they file the extension and don’t send any money in," says Barajas, who has prepared thousands of tax returns in the past 30 years. "I would send in as much as I possibly could."

If you overestimate and pay more than what you wind up owing, the government will refund the difference.  

Students with part-time jobs: don't forget to file!

If you’re a student age 23 or younger, your parents likely claim you as a dependent. But if you've had a part-time or summer job or have been working at an internship, you should still file your own tax return. Otherwise, you could be missing out on a refund, even if it is a small one.

"We usually recommend that students go ahead and do that," says Aaron Martinez, a Beverly Hills-based tax advisor with H&R Block.  "Their standard deduction is going to be lower because their parents claimed them, but they can still get a refund if there was [a tax] withholding on their [paycheck]."

Martinez says in many cases, young students forget about short-term jobs or don't think they've earned enough to justify filing a tax return.  The employer sends a W-2 form to their parents' address, and the students never see it.

"If they don’t file, that money just stays with the government," Martinez says, adding that students actually have three years after the tax year to file and claim their refund.  

Your unclaimed refund might still be waiting for you

Speaking of that three-year window, Martinez points out that April 15 is also the last day for everyone who is due a refund from the 2011 tax year to file and claim it.

The IRS estimates it's holding on to $1 billion for taxpayers who didn't file a 2011 return. Californians represent a big chunk: more than 103,000 California residents are leaving money on Uncle Sam's table — the most in any state, according to IRS estimates.  The median 2011 refund amount in California was $627.

Unreimbursed expenses are everywhere

Uniforms...work boots...subscriptions to trade publications  Your employer may not reimburse you for them,  but the IRS says if they’re necessary for doing your job, they are tax deductible.

“It could be that you need to go home and do work so you have to pay for the internet, or you need your personal cell phone to get calls from clients or customers that you’re working with," says Louis Barajas, the Los Angeles-based financial planner. You can’t deduct the whole bill for those services, only the percentage you estimate you use for work. 

He adds that union dues, meals with clients and mileage driven to and from out-of-office work appointments can be also deductions. However, it is important to calculate whether you have enough of these expenses to justify writing them off. 

The total of your unreimbursed expenses must be more than 2 percent of your adjusted gross income. So if you brought in $50,000 in 2014, your unreimbursed expenses would have to go above $1000 before you can start writing them off. 

Freelancers can learn more about tracking and deducting business expenses here.

California Renter's Credit

If you pay rent and have a personal income tax liability in California, you may qualify for a tax credit from the state.  The Franchise Tax Board gives details here. Much of it hinges on your income. You are eligible if you make:

• $37,768 or less if your filing status is single or married/Registered Domestic Partner  (RDP) filing separately.
• $75,536 or less if you are married/RDP filing jointly, head of household, or qualified widow(er).

The credit amount isn't huge — $60 for the single filer, $120 for the head of household — but every dollar counts, right?