By Wendy Ring Levine & Penny Goldstein D’Agostino

Tax season is here and new laws are confusing. Penny Goldstein D’Agostino, Jewish Pavilion CFO and owner of a financial planning and tax service, is available to share some advice.

D’Agostino says this year April 15, 2020, is tax day for filing your 2019 tax return. If you file an extension, it is an extension to file your paperwork only. You still must have made your anticipated payment in order to avoid interest and penalties after April 15th.

There is no set age to stop paying taxes. Taxes are technically from birth to death. Whether you need to file a tax return is what changes. The guidelines for filing a tax return vary based on income and many other circumstances, you should check with a professional to find out whether you need to file. There is also an interactive guide on the IRS website and you can talk to AARP tax advisors about your personal circumstances for free.

A new tax return, IRS Form 1040-SR (“US Tax Return For Seniors”), is available for taxpayers born before Jan. 2, 1955. It has a large, easy-to-read font and includes a standard-deduction chart so that these taxpayers don’t need to access the instructions, though Schedule A is still available for itemizing deductions.

As a general rule in financial planning, taxes should not be a reason to make a decision or not to make a decision, but you should know what the effects of your decisions are.