One of the most important ways taxpayers can reduce the number of errors they have on their tax return is by electronically filing it. Most tax software programs do the math for individuals, flag common errors, and prompts taxpayers for missing information. Using tax software can also help a taxpayer claim valuable credits and deductions.

Another way to avoid making common errors is by using a reputable tax preparer. This includes certified public accountants, enrolled agents, or other knowledgeable tax professionals.

The IRS urges all taxpayers to file their tax returns electronically and choose direct deposits in order to receive their refund faster and avoid pandemic-related paper delays.

Optima Tax Relief reviews some common errors taxpayers should avoid when preparing their tax return:

• Double-check your Social Security (SSN) number. Although it seems obvious to include your SSN on your taxes, it is a common error to forget to add a number or accidentally put the incorrect number on your return.
• Misspelled names. Taxpayers should list their name on their tax return the same way it is listed on their Social Security card.
• Math mistakes. Math errors are one of the most common mistakes on a tax return and can range from simple addition and subtraction to much more complex calculations. Taxpayers should always check their math or use a tax prep software program that will do it automatically for them.
• Figuring credits or deductions. Taxpayers can make mistakes figuring things like their earned income tax credit, child and dependent care credit, and recovery rebate credit. If someone is eligible for a recovery rebate credit – and either did not receive Economic Impact Payments or received less than the full amounts – they must file a 2020 tax return to claim the credit even if they do not usually file.
• Inaccurate bank account numbers. Taxpayers who choose to receive their refund through direct deposit should make sure that their routing and account numbers are correct before sending their tax return off to the IRS.
• Unsigned forms. An unsigned tax return is not valid. In most cases, both spouses must sign a joint return.
• Filing with an expired individual tax identification number. If a taxpayer’s ITIN is expired, they should go ahead and file using the expired number. The IRS will process that return and treat it as a return filed on time. However, the IRS will not allow any exemptions or credits to a return filed with an expired ITIN.

Web development requires specific skills, and to acquire the skills you need in order to excel in your role as a web developer, there are a few tips and tricks you should know. These skills vary and are all equally important in today’s technology-dominated world. To understand how you can improve your web development skills, read on for some valuable tips.

Make Time to Learn New Methods and Skills

The world is constantly growing and learning and we have to keep up with this pace to grow and learn as well. With this fact stated, you should know that if you want to excel and stand out amongst your colleagues or competitors in the market, you need to always be eager to expand your knowledge through studying, learning new skills, and learning about the improvements done in your area of specialty. Making time to learn the latest methods and skills will ensure that you are always up to date on the developments and requirements in the market.

Write Code Daily

Practice makes perfect. Just like how learning a new language will require that you practice speaking it daily until you’ve become fluent with it, coding languages are just the same. Practicing and writing the codes you learn daily, along with other ways, will actually improve your web development skills. If we are to refer to the previous point, it has to be mentioned that trying to study new skills does not mean forgetting what you have previously learned. When you know more than one way and you have more than one skill that you can master, this will ensure that you’re scarce to the web development market.

Maintain Your Website

Just like any car or machine you ever bought, your websites continuously need maintenance to keep running properly. The way technology is rapidly developing makes it mandatory to always keep websites and apps up to date. The web developers at https://nerder.com state that leaving your website without maintenance for a long period of time may affect its ranking on different web browsers as search engine algorithms are continuously changing and evolving. In addition to broken links and visuals, outdated content can also affect your ranking and be misleading to your clients or other stakeholders. Furthermore, not keeping an eye out for your website’s maintenance needs can result in you having rusty skills, which is why you should always evolve with technology.

Be Receptive to Feedback and Be a Good Listener

You should always try to improve your interpersonal skills. To have just good coding skills and understanding coding languages don’t necessarily mean you are a good web developer. Having interpersonal skills makes a huge difference as being able to do a task doesn’t necessarily mean you actually understand what the task is. You might want to learn to listen intently and patiently and to ask the client for the specifics they want on their website. After doing that, try to repeat what you understood to make sure that you and the client are on the same page in order to perform the task correctly, effectively, and efficiently. Another thing that you will want to do is to accept feedback and be receptive. It is actually quite false that getting feedback means you did a bad job. Getting feedback is always a chance of improvement even if your work is good. Neglecting feedback and ignoring it will make you repeat the same mistakes and you will not be moving forward. Try to write whatever comments your teacher, boss, or client tell you and to have a look at them whenever you’re doing a task to make sure you don’t accidentally repeat them.

Challenge Yourself

Whenever you feel used to what you’re doing or that it’s becoming too easy for you, try to add a challenging task or goal for yourself. If you feel like your job is not challenging anymore you will stop practicing and you will start to slowly forget the basis of web development. Making sure that you always have a goal or a challenge by always trying new challenges and new things will ensure that you’re continuously practicing and continuously working your brain towards solving problems. This way, you will stay up to date, prepared, and ready for whatever tasks that may come your way.

As a web developer, you should know that you don’t finish studying when you acquire a degree. With technology rapidly developing, you will always have something new to learn or implement, which will make your job more interesting and a bit on the challenging side. With these tips in mind, you can successfully improve your web development skills and keep up with the times.

Individuals who had their sensitive tax information compromised by scammers attempting to steal their unemployment benefits are urged by Optima Tax Relief to file a tax return claiming only the income that they received for the tax year.

Throughout 2020, millions of taxpayer’s employment and income were affected by the ongoing pandemic through job loss and reduced work hours. Many individuals filed for unemployment compensation from their state during this time to assist them until they were financially stable. By law, the unemployment benefits that many received are considered taxable and must be reported as income on their tax return.

Many scammers took advantage of the unemployed during the pandemic by filing fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation. These thieves also used stolen personal information from individuals who did not file any claims. Payments made went directly to the identity thieves instead of the individuals who may have needed it.

Taxpayers who received an incorrect copy of Form 1099-G should immediately contact the issuing state agency and request a revised form. If they are unable to get a corrected form on time, they should still file their return with the amount of compensation that they received for the tax years. Taxpayers should also save all documentation they have regarding their attempt to receive a corrected form from their state agency.

If you are a victim of identity theft, you should visit Identity Theft Central found on the IRS’s website. This will allow individuals to understand what signs they should look out for if they believe they are a victim of identity theft.

Taxpayers are not required to file a Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, with the IRS. An affidavit is typically required only when a taxpayer’s e-filed return has been rejected because a return using the same Social Security number was already filed.

For those who are concerned that their personal information has been stolen or they want to protect their identity when filing their federal tax return, they have the option to request any identity protection pin from the IRS.

A quality workspace creates a healthier, less stressful, and more productive atmosphere. Your workspace environment needs to promote both physical and mental health. 

Working in a conducive office setting is likely to boost your employees’ morale and creativity, improve their mental health, leading to greater job satisfaction, improved productivity, not to mention decreased levels of stress at work.

A good atmosphere at work is not something that happens by accident. It’s the product of simple changes and adjustments that you make to your office space. 

Fortunately, improving the working environment for your employees doesn’t have to be as expensive, difficult, or as time-consuming as you may think. As a matter of fact, it may be less costly and more beneficial. 

Happy workers have a 48.4% propensity to stay with an organization, reducing turnover costs. Here are a few ways you can create a better work atmosphere for your employees.

Make Sure Workspaces Are Properly Illuminated

Lighting is one of the most important factors in staying focused and feeling inspired to produce. 

There is a strong connection between natural light in the workplace and employees’ quality of production. You should make sure all the workspaces have a window facing the direction of the sun to improve the mood of your employees.

If it’s not possible to incorporate natural lighting using windows, consider obtaining ceiling lights or sunlight desk lamps that are more like natural light. 

With these energy-efficient and innovative brands, you’ll be able to reduce fatigue, while increasing the happiness and work performance of your employees.

Amplify the effects of lighting by using mirrors, curtains and painting your walls with bright colors to help in reflecting light in your employees’ workspaces. 

Use this kind of hack in brainstorming and meeting rooms to improve their mood, mental health, and energy that will greatly inspire focus and productivity.

Make The Office Comfortable

Remember, your employees can’t give you their best in a workspace they find disruptive. 

That is why most workers are up to 13% more productive when working from the comfort of their home than at the office. 

Create a clean and comfortable office space that encompasses everything from ergonomic furniture to temperature-regulated interiors. 

Sparing some time to create a workspace that makes life easier and more pleasant for your team will empower your employees to do their best at work.

You should invest dearly in comfy furniture, working equipment, and a few extra-mile amenities like adjustable standing desks and well-positioned computer screens to alleviate complaints on posture problems and improve your employees’ emotional well-being. 

Your workers will not only appreciate that their well-being is important to you, but also be re-energized to give you their best.

Do not confine your employees in a ‘box’! Do away with the walls. Your office should have an open-plan concept instead of cubicles that isolate people from each other to improve communication and teamwork.

Add Some Character to Your Office

If you can, equip the office with recreational areas for employees. Your employees will be excited about having a place where they can get a little exercise or blow off some steam between tasks while brainstorming, creating rapport and cohesion among themselves. 

Create a room for a pool table, or find space for a television room for entertainment while on breaks.

You should also introduce some greenery in your office space. Add just a couple of potted plants to make your office space feel a little more alive. 

Humans are naturally inclined to connecting with nature and this will reduce your employees’ levels of stress, boost productivity and cleanse the air by absorbing contaminants.

Introducing relaxing indoor waterfall features can also contribute to a soothing atmosphere, creating a peaceful backdrop for work. This addition will enhance the overall ambiance and provide a calming soundscape to help employees focus and unwind.

Use scents to create a positive vibe in your office. Stimulating their sense of smell by can reduce the number of typos made by employees, literally!  

Scents such as lemon, lavender, and jasmine stimulate brain activity and would cause employees to be more focused and productive. You can also create your own DIY air freshener by mixing water with a few drops of essential oils of your choice.

Allow Workstation Personalization

Let your employees decorate their workspaces in ways that are personal and appealing to them to suit their cognitive and psychological characteristics. When you allow them to have personal photos, plants, and art, they will feel a sense of pride that will be reflected by their output.

The traditional nine-to-five, Monday-to-Friday work week doesn’t resonate well with everyone. 

People have different times of the day when they are most productive. Whenever possible, you should allow your employees to choose their own schedules to enable them to work smarter, waste no time, and be more productive.

Have A Modular Office Structure

It goes without saying that nobody enjoys working in a dull place. Having the right furniture adds warmth to your office space and promotes tranquility. Nothing adds such magic to modern workspaces like modular office systems.

Modular office furniture enhances the aesthetics of the interior office space. They lend a superior look to your space, with their latest furniture design looking lively with a sharp and pleasant look. 

That can be used to create a private workspace while still allowing for an open-plan design with good air circulation. Check out these modern workstation ideas on Pinterest.

Conclusion

With these few tips, you’ll be able to create a can-do mindset among your employees by creating a workspace that promotes positivity, creativity, and productivity. Ultimately, people are happiest and produce high-quality work when they are in a comfortable environment. 

This can be achieved by simple ideas such as illumination and workstation personalization, and more complex improvements such as installing modular office systems and purchasing ergonomic furniture. 

Your employees will find that one thing at your office that is very rare to find; a fun and fulfilling place to work!

Regardless of whether you are a business executive or an IT expert, the best IT managed services in Washington DC can make your work easier so that you can focus on other important things. Managed IT benefits can include the industry knowledge, dedication, and expertise of the whole IT department, who can deliver your core business. These benefits allow you to focus on growing your company’s core competencies. 

Remember that a managed IT service provider can assist you with daily tasks that are complex and time-consuming, such as disaster recovery planning, data center solutions, cloud computing, and end-user support. As a result, these providers can improve the company’s efficiency and competitiveness. This article discusses the advantages of using managed IT services. 

Predictable and Scalable Spending

No doubt, it can be quite expensive to invest in IT infrastructure and systems. When  you decide to invest in IT requirements upfront, then it can be hard to predict operating expenses as the business grows. But with managed IT services, these expenses are put together into a single and fixed set of costs. 

Because IT managed service providers usually operate with a fixed monthly rate, it means rates, such as maintenance, hardware breakdowns, and repairs are calculated using your operational budget, meaning it can’t break the bank once the unexpected happens.  

You Can Avoid Sunk and Operational Expenses

Running an in-house IT team means that you have significant sunk costs like monthly salaries, office upkeep, benefits, and insurance. Also, it can take a lot of time and money to train your employees to become familiar with the existing processes and systems. 

So your Manage IT provider can reduce a lot of capital expenditures that are associated with managing IT systems in-house and even add a bit to no value to your company. Aside from reducing your capital expenditures, you can also lower your IT costs by using managed IT services. 

For example, managed IT services tend to assist you to save on licensing, consulting, training, and emergency repairs. You can also benefit a lot from reduced labor rates once you hire the managed IT services. 

Fast Response Time

Today, employees don’t have to be slowed down by any type of technical problems or downtown. This is especially true when you are experiencing high traffic times. 

This is the reason why you need to have 24/7 support to make sure that your team is always productive. Managed IT service providers offer such types of services and you can expect that they will be available for your users regardless of whether it’s a weekend, day, night, or holidays. 

Expertise and Experience

Another notable benefit you can get by hiring a managed IT service provider is that you can find a team that has the training, qualifications, experience, and certifications required in this industry. 

A managed IT service provider can also offer you access to high-quality IT administrators with a great skill set to negate the need for you to hire such expertise yourself. When you find a managed IT service provider, you can also access the latest technology available on the market.

Managed Print Services (MPS) are programs provided by print providers to help you manage printing gadgets such as faxes, copiers, and scammers. The main objective of MPS is to improve productivity, efficiency, and information security.

As a startup business, one of your concerns should be how to minimize expenses and maximize profits. You will also want the business to operate smoothly without running into issues that affect the normal operations of the business. One way of achieving that is through managed print services (MPS).

Here are some of the ways through which Managed Print Services can be of great help to a startup business:

1. It Improves Efficiency and Saves Time

Have you ever thought of the amount of time used by your employees on printer-related tasks? The whole process of scanning, printing, faxing or copying documents using old hardware is tedious and time-consuming. This is without mentioning the time spend replacing ink cartridges as well as fixing malfunctioning devices.

But with a managed print service, most of those challenges are eliminated. Your employees can instead spend more time on other important tasks. All you have to do is to identify a reliable print company such as Konica Minolta photocopiers.

2. It Improves Productivity for your Business

As you get started with your business, you will realize that various departments will have their own distinct printing needs. After conducting an assessment of your business’ current and future needs, the printing company (through its MPS program) should be able to suggest a bespoke program for each department. This may include printing from off-site or mobile devices or printing of special documents.

Additionally, some departments such as IT will have more time to work on critical issues affecting your business rather than spending a lot of time monitoring and replacing printing machines.

3. It Reduces the Cost of Operation

Having an automated or cloud-based system is much cheaper compared to operating separate devices at a time. The good thing about Managed Prints Services is that they connect several devices to a single monitoring system. This ensures that there is speedy delivery and replacement of toners.

A proper print audit and assessment can help create ways of consolidating your hardware. After all, you will need a lot of space to keep devices all over the place. In a nutshell, MPS can help your business save a lot of money by preventing wastage.

4. Up-to-Date Security

Although technology has greatly transformed the printing industry, it has also brought a number of challenges. One of those challenges is cybercrime. Most traditional printing devices are vulnerable to security threats. Never assume that printing equipment are immune to online hackers.

That’s why it is important to conduct a print assessment to help detect any IP risks for your business. Most MPS providers have tailored print security plans designed to keep away online hackers. It is up to you to identify the needs of your business and choose an appropriate plan.

5. Environmentally Friendly

Every business has a duty to conserve the environment and reduce pollution to manageable levels. By going paperless and minimizing the amount of electricity being used, your business plays a big role in protecting the environment. An MPS package makes it easy for you to identify and determine print levels.

Bottom Line

There’s no doubt that Managed Print Services play a big role in the daily operation of most businesses.

As a startup business, some of the things you would want to attain include reduced operational costs, efficiency, and improved productivity among others. With an MPS program, your business is guaranteed of achieving some all the above goals.