An IRS tax tip listing seven credits and benefits for taxpayers with disabilities and parents of disabled children, among them a higher standard deduction for the legally blind, excluded disability payments, impairment-related work expenses and the earned income tax credit.
Section archive
Tax Tips
- All desks
- Abortion
- Accutane
- Acetaminophen
- Acid Reflux
- Acidic Foods
- Acne
- Acrylamide
- Acupuncture
- Additives
- ADHD
- Adiposity
- Advisories
- Aerobic Exercise
- Aflatoxin
- Agave
- Agent Orange
- Aging
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- AIDS
- Air Pollution
- Airline Passengers
- Airport
- ALA
- Alcohol
- Alcoholic Beverage
- Alerts
- Allergy
- Alli
- Aloe Vera
- ALS
- Alternative Medicine
- Aluminum
- Alzheimer's
- Amalgam
- AMD
- Ampyra
- Amygdala
- Anal Cancer
- And
- Anemia
- Angiogenesis
- Animal Protein
- Animals
- Anorexia
- Anthocyanins
- Anthrax
- Anti-Angiogenesis
- Anti-Obesity
- Antibacterial
- Antibiotic
Miscellaneous
IRS TAX TIP 2011-23: Five Tips if You Changed Your Name Due to Marriage or Divorce
The IRS warns that a name change after marriage or divorce must be reported to the Social Security Administration with Form SS-5, or a mismatch can delay processing and refunds. Adopted children lacking a Social Security number need an ATIN, applied for on Form W-7A.
Miscellaneous
IRS Tax Tip 2011-22: Use Your Federal Tax Refund to Buy Savings Bonds
An IRS tax tip: taxpayers can put part or all of a federal refund toward up to $5,000 in Series I savings bonds, in multiples of $50, by filing Form 8888. Paper bonds arrive by mail, and any remaining refund goes to an account or a check.
Miscellaneous
IRS Tax Tip 2011-20: EITC – Don’t Overlook It
An IRS tax tip on the Earned Income Tax Credit, open to workers earning $48,362 or less and worth up to $5,666, averaging about $2,100. You must file a return and claim it, have earned income and a valid SSN, and cannot file as married filing separately.
Miscellaneous
IRS Tax Tip 2011-21: Medical and Dental Expenses
The IRS lists six points on deducting medical and dental costs on Schedule A: only the amount above 7.5% of adjusted gross income counts, totals must be reduced by any reimbursement, and drug costs qualify only for prescriptions, plus insulin.
Miscellaneous
IRS Tax Tip 2011-19: Want Your Tax Refund Fast – Choose Direct Deposit
An IRS tip: pairing e-file with direct deposit can bring a refund in as few as 10 days, removes the risk of a check lost or returned as undeliverable, and lets taxpayers split a refund across up to three accounts using Form 8888. Some banks reject joint refunds paid into individual accounts.
Miscellaneous
IRS Tax Tip 2011-18: Ten Tax Benefits for Parents
An IRS tip sheet listing ten tax benefits for parents, among them claiming a child as a dependent, the Child Tax Credit, the Child and Dependent Care Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Adoption Credit, with the IRS publication to consult for each.
Miscellaneous
IRS Tax Tip 2011-17: Tax Help for Small Businesses and Self-Employed
An IRS tax tip pointing small business owners and the self-employed to the agency's Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center, which offers forms, an EIN application, employment tax information, a virtual tax workshop, an audit guide and a video portal.
Miscellaneous
IRS Tax Tip 2011-16: Tax Tips for Self-employed Individuals
The IRS lists six points for the self-employed: file Schedule C or C-EZ, pay self-employment tax figured on Schedule SE, deduct half of that tax, make quarterly estimated payments or risk a penalty, and deduct business expenses that are ordinary and necessary.
Miscellaneous
Daily Tax Tip - 15: Five Important Facts about the Making Work Pay Credit
An IRS tax tip listing five facts about the Making Work Pay Credit for 2010: up to $400 for individuals and $800 for joint filers, claimed on Schedule M or the 1040-EZ worksheet, and unavailable above $95,000 in modified adjusted gross income, or $190,000 for joint filers.
Miscellaneous
Daily Tax Tip - 13: How to Get Your Prior Year Tax Information from the IRS
The IRS offers free transcripts of tax return and tax account information for the current and past three tax years, by web, phone or mail. Online or phone requests arrive in 5 to 10 days; mailed Form 4506T or 4506T-EZ requests take about 30 days.
Miscellaneous
Daily Tax Tip - 14: Four Tax Tips about Tip Income
The IRS reminds tipped workers that cash and non-cash tips are taxable and subject to Social Security and Medicare tax, that credit card and split tips belong in gross income, that $20 or more in a month must be reported to the employer, and that Publication 1244 helps log daily tips.
Miscellaneous
Daily tax Tip - 12: Two Tax Credits to Help Pay Higher Education Costs
The IRS explains two education credits: the American Opportunity Credit, worth up to $2,500 for each of a student's first four years and 40 percent refundable, and the Lifetime Learning Credit. Only one applies per student per year, claimed by the parent or the student but not both.
Miscellaneous
Daily Tax Tip - 11: Let Free File do the hard work for you
IRS Free File lets taxpayers with 2010 adjusted gross income of $58,000 or less use brand-name tax software at no cost, with online fillable forms for everyone else. Users must start at irs.gov/freefile; the IRS puts user satisfaction at 98 percent.
Miscellaneous
Daily Tax Tip - 5: Top 10 Reasons to Visit the IRS Website
IRS Tax Tip 2011-05 lists reasons to use irs.gov: round-the-clock access, Free File software for those earning $58,000 or less, fillable forms for everyone else, e-file with direct deposit, and online refund status checks.
Miscellaneous
Daily Tax Tip - 4: Ways to Obtain IRS Forms and Publications
The IRS lists four ways to get free forms and publications now that it no longer mails paper tax packages: irs.gov, 401 Taxpayer Assistance Centers, libraries and post offices during filing season, and ordering by phone at 1-800-TAX-FORM.
Miscellaneous
Daily Tax Tip - 10: Prepare and File Your Taxes Electronically
The IRS pitches e-file ahead of the 2011 season: an acknowledgement within 48 hours, refunds in as few as 10 days when paired with direct deposit, and more ways to pay. From January 1, many paid preparers must be authorized to file electronically.
Miscellaneous
Daily Tax Tip - 9: Eight Facts About Filing Status
An IRS tax tip lists the five filing statuses, notes that marital status on the last day of the year governs the whole year, and advises choosing the status that gives the lowest tax when more than one applies. Publication 501 covers the details.
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