Artículo Spouse unable to sign.. Spouse unable to sign.

id="en_US_2025_publink1000170608"> Spouse unable to sign. If your spouse is unable to sign for any reason, see Signing a joint return in chapter 2. Child’s return. If a child has to file a tax return but can’t sign the return, the child’s parent, guardian, or another legally responsible person must sign the child’s name, followed by the words “By (your signature), parent for minor child.” Paid Preparer Generally, anyone you pay to prepare, assist in preparing, or review your tax return must sign it and fill in the other blanks, including their Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), in the paid preparer’s area of your return. Many preparers are required to e-file the tax returns they prepare. They sign these e-filed returns using their tax preparation software. However, you can choose to have your return completed on paper if you prefer. In that case, the paid preparer can sign the paper return manually or use a rubber stamp or mechanical device. The preparer is personally responsible for affixing their signature to the return. If the preparer is self-employed (that is, not employed by any person or business to prepare the return), the preparer should check the self-employed box in the “Paid Preparer Use Only” space on the return. The preparer must give you a copy of your return in addition to the copy filed with the IRS. If you prepare your own return, leave this area blank. If another person prepares your return and doesn’t charge you, that person shouldn’t sign your return. If you have questions about whether a preparer must sign your return, contact any IRS office. Refunds When you complete your return, you will determine if you paid more income tax than you owed. If so, you can get a refund of the amount you overpaid or you can choose to apply all or part of the overpayment to your next year’s (2026) estimated tax. . If you choose to have a 2025 overpayment applied to your 2026 estimated tax, you can’t change your mind and have any of it refunded to you after the due date (without extensions) of your 2025 return. . Follow the Instructions for Form 1040 to complete the entries to claim your refund and/or to apply your overpayment to your 2026 estimated tax. . If your refund for 2025 is large, you may want to decrease the amount of income tax withheld from your pay in 2026. See chapter 4 for more information. . . Have your refund deposited directly into your checking, savings, health savings, brokerage, or other similar account, including an individual retirement arrangement (IRA). Follow the Instructions for Form 1040 to request direct deposit. . Starting in October 2025, the IRS will generally stop issuing paper checks for federal disbursements, including tax refunds, unless an exception applies. For more information, go to IRS.gov/ModernPayments . Don’t request a deposit of any part of your refund to an account that isn’t in your name. Don’t allow your tax preparer to deposit any part of your refund into the preparer’s account. The number of direct deposits to a single account or prepaid debit card is limited to three refunds a year. Learn more at IRS.gov/DepositLimit . IRA. You can have your refund (or part of it) directly deposited to a traditional IRA or Roth IRA, but not a SIMPLE IRA. You must establish the IRA at a bank or financial institution before you request direct deposit. Split refunds. If you choose direct deposit, you may be able to split the refund and have it deposited into more than one account. Complete Form 8888 and attach it to your return. Overpayment less than one dollar. If your overpayment is less than $1, you won’t get a refund unless you ask for it in writing. Refund more or less than expected. If you receive a refund you aren’t entitled to, or for an overpayment that should have been credited to estimated tax, hold the refund in your account. Check your online account at IRS.gov/Account or contact the IRS. If you receive more than the refund you claimed, hold the refund in your account until you receive a notice explaining the difference. If your refund is for less than you claimed, it should be accompanied by a notice explaining the difference. If you didn’t receive a notice and you have any questions about the amount of your refund, you should wait 2 weeks. If you still haven’t received a notice, check your online account at IRS.gov/Account or contact the IRS. Offset against debts. If you are due a refund but haven’t paid certain amounts you owe, all or part of your refund may be used to pay all or part of the past-due amount. This includes past-due federal income tax, other federal debts (such as student loans), state income tax, child and spousal support payments, and state unemployment compensation debt. You will be notified if the refund you claimed has been offset against your debts. Joint return and injured spouse. When a joint return is filed and only one spouse owes a past-due amount, the other spouse can be considered an injured spouse. An injured spouse should file Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation, if both of the following apply and the spouse wants a refund of their share of the overpayment shown on the joint return. You aren’t legally obligated to pay the past-due amount. You made and reported tax payments (such as federal income tax withheld from your wages or estimated tax payments), or claimed a refundable tax credit (see the credits listed under Who Should File , earlier). Note: If the injured spouse’s residence was in a community property state at any time during the tax year, special rules may apply. See the Instructions for Form 8379. If you haven’t filed your joint return and you know that your joint refund will be offset, file Form 8379 with your return. You should receive your refund within 14 weeks from the date the paper return is filed or within 11 weeks from the date the return is filed electronically. If you filed your joint return and your joint refund was offset, file Form 8379 by itself. When filed after offset, it can take up to 8 weeks to receive your refund. Don’t attach the previously filed tax return, but do include copies of all Forms W-2 and W-2G for both spouses and any Forms 1099 that show income tax withheld. The processing of Form 8379 may be delayed if these forms aren’t attached, or if the form is incomplete when filed. A separate Form 8379 must be filed for each tax year to be considered. . An injured spouse claim is different from an innocent spouse relief request. An injured spouse uses Form 8379 to request the division of the tax overpayment attributed to each spouse. An innocent spouse uses Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief, to request relief from joint liability for tax, interest, and penalties on a joint return for items of the other spouse (or former spouse) that were incorrectly reported on the joint return. For information on innocent spouses, see Relief from joint responsibility under Filing a Joint Return in chapter 2. . Amount You Owe When you complete your return, you will determine if you have paid the full amount of tax that you owe. If you owe additional tax, you should pay it with your return. . You don’t have to pay if the amount you owe is under $1. . If the IRS figures your tax for you, you will receive a bill for any tax that is due. You should pay this bill within 30 days (or by the due date of your return, if later). See Tax Figured by IRS in chapter 13. . If you don’t pay your tax when due, you may have to pay a failure-to-pay penalty. See Penalties , later. For more information about your balance due, see Pub. 594. . . If the amount you owe for 2025 is large, you may want to increase the amount of income tax withheld from your pay or make estimated tax payments for 2026. See chapter 4 for more information. . How To Pay You can pay online, by phone, by mobile device, in cash, or by check or money order. Don’t include any estimated tax payment for 2026 in this payment. Instead, make the estimated tax payment separately. Insufficient funds. The penalty for making a payment to the IRS that was dishonored is $25 or 2% of the dishonored payment amount, whichever is more. However, if the dishonored payment amount is less than $25, the penalty equals the amount paid. This penalty applies to all acceptable forms of payment if the IRS doesn’t receive the funds. Pay online. Paying online is convenient and secure and helps make sure we get your payments on time. You can pay online with a direct transfer from your bank account using IRS Direct Pay or the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), or by debit or credit card. To pay your taxes online or for more information, go to IRS.gov/Payments . Pay by phone. Paying by phone is another safe and secure method of paying online. Use one of the following methods. EFTPS. Debit or credit card. To get more information about EFTPS or to enroll in EFTPS, visit EFTPS.gov or call 800-555-4477. To contact EFTPS using Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, dial 711 and then provide the TRS assistant the 800-555-4477 number or 800-733-4829. Additional information about EFTPS is also available in Pub. 966. To pay using a debit or credit card, you can call one of the following service providers. There is a convenience fee charged by these providers that varies by provider, card type, and payment amount. Link2Gov Corporation 888-PAY-1040 TM (888-729-1040) PAY1040.com ACI Payments, Inc. 888-UPAY-TAX TM (888-872-9829) fed.acipayonline.com For the latest details on how to pay by phone, go to IRS.gov/Payments . Pay by cash. You can pay your taxes in cash. To find out about the different cash payment methods, go to IRS.gov/PayCash . Don’t send cash payments through the mail. Pay by check or money order. Before submitting a payment through the mail, please consider alternative methods. One of our safe, quick, and easy electronic payment options might be right for you. If you choose to mail a tax p