The links worth
bookmarking.
Every tool below goes straight to an official source — IRS, Minnesota Revenue, Social Security, FinCEN. No affiliate links, no lookalike sites. We keep this page current because the wrong URL is how people get scammed.
Refunds & payments
Track a refund, pay a balance, or set up a payment plan.
EFTPS — federal tax payment system
The system businesses use for payroll and corporate tax deposits. Enrollment takes several days because a PIN arrives by mail, so do not start this the week a deposit is due.
Estimated tax payments
Due dates and rules for quarterly estimates. If you have self-employment, rental, or large investment income, this is how you avoid an underpayment penalty.
IRS Direct Pay
Pay a balance or an estimated payment straight from your bank account. Free — no card processing fee. Save the confirmation number.
IRS Online Account
The single most useful login you can have: balance owed, payment history, notices, and transcripts in one place. Worth setting up before you need it.
Minnesota Direct Pay
Pay a Minnesota state tax balance or estimated payment online. Free bank-account option — no card fee.
Tax Withholding Estimator
Check whether your W-4 is set right. Run it after any raise, job change, marriage, or new baby — not in April, when it is too late to fix the year.
Where's My Amended Return?
Status for a Form 1040-X. Amended returns are slow — 16 weeks is normal, longer is common. Check here before calling.
Where's My Refund? (IRS)
Federal refund status, updated once daily. Have your filing status, SSN, and exact refund amount ready. Nothing shows up until roughly 24 hours after an e-filed return is accepted.
Where's My Refund? (Minnesota)
Minnesota state refund status. Separate system from the IRS — a federal refund arriving says nothing about where the state one is.
Records & transcripts
Pull your own IRS records — transcripts, wage data, account history.
Get your tax records & transcripts
Download a wage & income transcript, an account transcript, or a return transcript. Lenders usually want the return transcript; we usually want wage & income.
Social Security — my Social Security account
Your lifetime earnings record and benefit estimate. Check the earnings history for gaps; a missing year is fixable, but only if you catch it.
When transcripts become available
Timing chart for each transcript type. Explains why a wage & income transcript for last year may still be empty in February.
Where to mail a paper return
Address varies by state and by whether a payment is enclosed. If you are mailing anything to the IRS, use certified mail and keep the receipt.
Forms & publications
The actual forms and the IRS guides that explain them.
All IRS forms & instructions
Searchable index of every current form, instruction, and publication, plus prior-year versions.
Form 1040-X — Amended return
How to fix a return you already filed. Generally three years from the original due date to claim a refund — after that the money is gone.
Form W-4 — Employee withholding
Give this to your employer, not the IRS. Pair it with the Withholding Estimator rather than guessing at the allowances.
Interactive Tax Assistant
Question-and-answer tool for narrow eligibility questions — filing status, who counts as a dependent, whether income is taxable.
Publication 17 — Your Federal Income Tax
The IRS's own plain-language guide to the individual return. Dense, but it is the source the rest of the internet is paraphrasing.
Publication 502 — Medical & dental expenses
The definitive list of what counts as a deductible medical expense. Longer and stranger than most people expect.
Standard mileage rates
Current and prior-year cents-per-mile for business, medical, and charitable driving. Rates change every January.
Business & self-employed
Entity setup, EINs, deductions, and the rules that apply to your books.
Apply for an EIN online
Free, and you get the number immediately. Any site charging you for an EIN is reselling this page.
Business structures compared
Sole proprietor vs. partnership vs. LLC vs. S-corp vs. C-corp, and what each one means for your tax bill. Talk to us before you change one.
FinCEN beneficial ownership (BOI) — status
As of the August 2026 final rule, U.S. companies are exempt and no longer file BOI reports; only certain foreign-formed registrants still do. If you got a letter demanding a BOI filing fee, it is a scam.
Form 2553 — S-corporation election
The election itself. The deadline is unforgiving and the payroll obligation is real, so run the numbers before filing it.
Gig Economy Tax Center
Rideshare, delivery, freelance platforms, short-term rentals. The income is reportable whether or not a 1099 shows up.
Publication 334 — Tax Guide for Small Business
The Schedule C filer’s manual: income, deductions, inventory, and recordkeeping.
Publication 463 — Travel, gifts & car expenses
What you can deduct for business travel and vehicle use, and the substantiation you need to survive an audit.
Publication 946 — How to depreciate property
Depreciation, Section 179, and bonus depreciation. Relevant the moment you buy equipment or a vehicle for the business.
Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center
For sole proprietors and single-member LLCs: self-employment tax, Schedule C, and the quarterly estimate rhythm.
Small Business & Self-Employed Tax Center
The IRS's main hub for business filers — starting up, deducting expenses, closing down, and everything between.
Tax Exempt Organization Search
Confirm a charity is actually deductible before you write a large check. Also shows revoked organizations.
U.S. Small Business Administration
Non-tax side of running a business: financing, licensing, planning, and local SBA offices.
Payroll & contractors
W-2s, 1099s, employment tax deposits, and who counts as an employee.
Employee or independent contractor?
The classification tests. Getting this wrong is expensive and retroactive — ask us before you decide someone is a 1099.
Form 1099-NEC — Contractor payments
Required for most contractors paid $600 or more in a year. Due to both the recipient and the IRS by January 31.
Form 941 — Quarterly payroll return
Filed every quarter once you have employees, even in a quarter with no wages paid.
Form W-9 — Request taxpayer ID
Collect one from every contractor BEFORE you pay them. Chasing a W-9 in January is how 1099 season goes wrong.
IRIS — file 1099s electronically (free)
The IRS's free 1099 e-filing portal. Requires a separate application for a Transmitter Control Code, so apply well before January.
Publication 15 (Circular E) — Employer’s Tax Guide
The employer payroll reference: withholding tables, deposit rules, and penalty structure.
SSA Business Services Online — file W-2s
W-2s go to the Social Security Administration, not the IRS. This is where you file them.
Understanding employment taxes
Withholding, FICA, FUTA, deposit schedules, and the returns that report them. Payroll tax is the one balance the IRS pursues hardest.
Minnesota & state
Minnesota Revenue plus a directory for the other 49 states.
Every state tax agency — directory
We file in all 50 states. If you need the revenue department for somewhere other than Minnesota, start here.
Minnesota business filings & annual renewal
Search a business, file an amendment, or complete the annual renewal. Renewal is free but due every calendar year — miss it and the entity is administratively dissolved.
Minnesota Department of Revenue
State tax home: forms, rates, notices, and contact information.
Minnesota e-Services
File and pay Minnesota taxes online — individual, sales, withholding, and business accounts.
Minnesota Property Tax Refund (M1PR)
Homeowners and renters both qualify at the right income levels. Deadline is August 15 — later than the return deadline, and routinely missed.
Minnesota Unemployment Insurance (employers)
Employer UI account, quarterly wage detail, and tax rate notices.
Retirement & savings
Contribution limits, RMDs, HSAs, and Social Security.
401(k) contribution limits
Elective deferral limits, catch-up amounts, and the combined employer/employee cap.
IRA contribution limits
Annual limits plus the income phase-outs for deductible traditional and Roth contributions. You generally have until the April deadline to fund the prior year.
Publication 560 — Retirement plans for small business
SEP, SIMPLE, and solo 401(k) plans. Often the largest single deduction available to a profitable small business.
Publication 969 — HSAs & other tax-favored health plans
HSA eligibility, limits, and qualified expenses. The only account that is deductible going in and tax-free coming out.
Required minimum distributions (RMDs)
When RMDs start and how they are calculated. The penalty for missing one is steep, and it is entirely avoidable.
Education
Education credits, 529 plans, and student aid.
Education credits — AOTC & Lifetime Learning
Eligibility, income limits, and which credit to take. You cannot claim both for the same student in the same year.
FAFSA — Federal student aid
Aid applications pull from a prior tax year, so the return we file this spring affects the aid package two years out.
Publication 970 — Tax benefits for education
Everything education-related: credits, 529 plans, Coverdell accounts, student loan interest, and scholarship taxability.
Health care
Marketplace coverage, premium tax credits, medical deductions.
Affordable Care Act — individuals & families
How Form 1095-A, the premium tax credit, and the reconciliation on Form 8962 fit together.
HealthCare.gov — Marketplace
Enroll in or change Marketplace coverage. Report income changes during the year — that is what keeps the premium credit from being clawed back in April.
Scams & identity theft
How to tell a real IRS contact from a fake — and what to do if you were hit.
Get an Identity Protection PIN
A six-digit PIN that blocks anyone else from filing a return under your SSN. Free, voluntary, and the single best protection there is. We recommend it to every client.
Identity Theft Central
What to do if a return was filed under your SSN, or the IRS sends a letter about a return you did not file.
IdentityTheft.gov — recovery plan
The FTC's step-by-step recovery process for identity theft beyond taxes — credit freezes, disputes, and affidavits.
Report phishing & IRS impersonation
The IRS does not open with a phone call, a text, an email, or a demand for gift cards. First contact is a letter. Report anything else here.
The Dirty Dozen — current scams
The IRS's annual list of the schemes circulating right now, including the bad advice being sold on social media.
Help & your rights
Free help, taxpayer rights, and how to check that a preparer is real.
IRS Free File
Free guided preparation below an income threshold, and free fillable forms at any income. Honest answer: if your situation is simple, this is enough.
IRS telephone assistance
Official numbers and hours. Hold times are long in filing season — the Online Account answers most of what people call about.
Taxpayer Advocate Service
An independent office inside the IRS for cases that are stuck or causing real hardship. Free. Tell us first — we can often resolve it faster.
Taxpayer Bill of Rights
The ten rights you have in any dealing with the IRS — including the right to representation, which is what an enrolled agent is for.
Verify a tax preparer
IRS directory of credentialed preparers. Enrolled agents, CPAs, and attorneys are the only three who can represent you before the IRS without limits.