1040 Tax Form Reviews & Tips
February 5, 2010 by Taxcut Editor
Filed under Personal and Business Taxes
The 1040 tax form should be your starting point for your personal IRS income tax returns. It’s designed to help you calculate the amount of tax you need to pay based on the amount of income you’ve declared.
By using this form regularly as your income changes, you’ll be more aware of whether you need to take steps to reduce your potential tax penalty or you might actually calculate that you’ll receive a return.
This is the ‘long form’ or the more complete version and should be used if you have complicated tax issues to calculate. Things like investment income or loss, capital gain or loss or multiple itemized deductions should be entered individually on your 1040 tax form to help you get a clearer idea of the amount of tax you should be paid or withholding.
Although the form could be only 2 main pages, they have 11 different attachments or schedules that follow with it. Each different schedule covers a specific aspect of your tax return, so that you may not need all.
1040A Tax Form
The 1040A Tax Form is the form that helps you to estimate tax return for the fiscal year. If you do not have complex tax toting up for the year as capital gains or deductions on individual itemized, then the short form will be ideal for you.
1040EZ Tax Form
The 1040EZ tax form is a more simplified version of the longer form of 1040 and is still able to help you determine what your tax bill could be the end of the year very quickly. Again, this is ideal for those with no tax issues not complicated to explain.
1040NR Tax Form
The 1040NR tax form designed to facilitate non-resident aliens to calculate the total of IRS tax return. For non-resident alien who has been in the United States for less than five years and has an income on which tax must be paid has to use this form.
This form shows the IRS the original figures you submitted and then highlights what those figures should have been according to your calculations. In some cases the irs help can help you to increase the amount of tax refund you were due or it might even reduce a pending tax penalty you might incur.
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Standard or Itemized Deductions
April 22, 2009 by Taxcut Editor
Filed under IRS News Items
03-11-2009
Standard or Itemized Deductions
Whether to itemize deductions on your tax return depends on how much you spent on certain expenses last year. Money paid for medical care, mortgage interest, taxes, charitable contributions, casualty losses and miscellaneous deductions can reduce your taxes. If the total amount spent on those categories is more than the standard deduction, you can usually benefit by itemizing.
The standard deduction amounts are based on your filing status and are subject to inflation adjustments each year. For 2008, they are:
Single $5,450
Married Filing Jointly $10,900
Head of Household $8,000
Married Filing Separately $5,450
Some taxpayers have different standard deductions. The standard deduction amount depends on your filing status, whether you are 65 or older or blind, whether an exemption can be claimed for you by another taxpayer, whether you plan to claim the additional standard deduction for state and local real estate taxes, and whether you have a net disaster loss from a federally declared disaster. If any of these apply, you must use the Standard Deduction Worksheet in the Form 1040EZ, 1040A or 1040 instructions.
Limited itemized deductions. Your itemized deductions may be limited if your adjusted gross income is more than $159,950 ($79,975 if you are married filing separately). This limit applies to all itemized deductions except medical and dental expenses, casualty and theft losses, gambling losses, investment interest and certain qualified cash contributions for relief efforts in a Midwestern disaster area.
Married Filing Separately. When a married couple files separate returns and one spouse itemizes deductions, the other spouse cannot claim the standard deduction and should itemize their deductions.
Some taxpayers are not eligible for the standard deduction. They include nonresident aliens, dual-status aliens and individuals who file returns for periods of less than 12 months.
Forms to use. To itemize your deductions, use Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, and Schedule A, Itemized Deductions.
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How to Correctly Claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2008 Return
April 22, 2009 by Taxcut Editor
Filed under IRS News Items
The IRS audit process
The March 10 Tax Talk Today
Webcast features tax professionals and IRS staff talking about what happens before, during and after an IRS audit.
The IRS sent taxpayers nearly 119 million economic stimulus payments last year. When filing a 2008 federal tax return, taxpayers will need to know the amount of their stimulus payment to properly determine if they are eligible for a recovery rebate credit.
Here are six tips for finding how much you received and correctly claiming the credit on your return
1. Get your notice. Check the amount listed on Notice 1378, which the IRS mailed last year to individuals who received the economic stimulus payment.
2. Visit IRS.gov to find the amount. If you don’t have your Notice 1378, go to the “How Much Was My 2008 Stimulus Payment?” tool that is available on the IRS Web site, IRS.gov. This tool can provide the correct amount in a matter of a few seconds.
3. Call the IRS at 1-866-234-2942. If you don’t have Internet access, call the IRS. After a brief recorded announcement, select option one to find out the amount of your economic stimulus payment. You will need to provide your 2007 filing status, Social Security Number and the number of exemptions claimed on the tax return.
4. Keep the amount handy. With the amount of last year’s economic stimulus payment in hand, you will be able to enter the figure on the recovery rebate credit worksheet or in the appropriate location when your tax preparation software requests it. This number will not appear on your actual tax return but is vital to ensure the accurate determination of the recovery rebate credit amount.
5. Trust the software or the worksheet to get it right. Tax preparation software will automatically and correctly calculate the amount of the rebate recovery credit for you. The software will also properly report the credit on your tax return. If you are filing a paper return, the worksheet will guide you in calculating the proper amount of the credit. The recovery rebate credit should be reported on Line 70 of Form 1040, Line 42 of Form 1040A or Line 9 of Form 1040EZ. In order to avoid an error, use extra care when responding to the software questions or when completing the worksheet. Do not enter the stimulus payment directly on your return.
6. Most taxpayers won’t qualify for more. For most taxpayers, the correct entry for the recovery rebate credit will either be blank or zero because they have already received the money as a stimulus payment. If you complete the worksheet, and there is any question about the amount that should be reported for the recovery rebate credit, you or your preparer should enter a zero on the appropriate line above. For most people this will be the correct amount, and for the others the IRS will determine whether a recovery rebate credit is due and, if so, how much. If the IRS calculates a different credit amount than is reflected on your return, you will receive a notice that alerts you to the change.
Links:
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Tax Relief Forms and General Tax Forms
April 21, 2009 by Taxcut Editor
Filed under IRS Tax Forms
Form 1040a - Form 1040A is for any taxpayer making less than $100,000 in taxable income.- Form 1040es - Form 1040-ES is known as the Estimated Tax Payment Voucher
- Form 1040x - Form 1040x is for an amended return, after filing your taxes.
- Form 2848 - Power of Attorney, IRS Form
- Form 4868 - Application for Automatic Extension of Time OMB No. 1545-0074 To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
- Form 656 - IRS Form 656, Offer in Compromise
- Form 7004 - Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, and Other Returns
- Form 8453 - This form is the signature document for e-file returns.
- Form 8821 - Tax Information Authorization
- Form 8822 - Change of address or name change.
- Form 1040 - Total tax form for standard deductions for real estate taxes and disaster losses.
- Form W4 - Complete Form W-4 so that your employer can withhold the correct federal income tax from your pay.
- instructions1040.pdf - Instructions for filing with the IRS Form 1040 for the average taxpayer.
- instructions1040a.pdf - Instructions for filing with the IRS Form 1040 for the average taxpayer.
- instructions1040x.pdf - Instructions for filing the Form 1040x an amended return, after filing your taxes.
- Form 4506 - Request for Copy or Transcript of Tax Form
- Form 433b - Collection Information Statement for Business
- Form 433a - Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-employed Individuals
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