Tax Preparation Checklist

Tax Preparation Checklist Get your forms in order! Find deductions: • W2 for reporting wages • 1099 for reporting interest and dividends 1099B for reporting stock and bond sales • 1040 for self-employed/individual income • Standard deduction, individual taxpayers: $5,800 • Standard deduction, married filing jointly: $11,600 • Standard deduction, head of household: $8,500 • Retirement/savings contributions (e.g. IRA) • Student loan interest • Moving expenses tax return • If you are filing your taxes late, you will need Form 4868- the application for an automatic extension of time to file a U.S. tax return Identify exemptions Check tax credits • The personal tax exemption in 2011 is $3,700 • You are allowed to claim one personal exemption for you and one for your spouse, as long as neither of you are claimed as a dependent on someone else's returns - this is true even if you are the sole • First time homebuyer credit • Child tax credit • Dependent care credit • Adoption credit Education credit income earner in your household • You are also allowed to claim one exemption for each dependent, even if the dependent files a return • Visit www.irs.gov to help determine how to calculate your exemptions • Energy improvement credit • Foreign paid tax credit • Earned income tax credit Decide how to file File on time! • E-file • Paid preparer • Standard deductions • Itemized deductions Tuesday, April 17, 2012 Of the 144,103,375 personal income taxes filed in 2010: 75.7% 57.7% 33.8% 64.4% claimed itemized deductions e-filed used a claimed paid tax standard deductions preparer = $200 Total individual income refunds issued: Note: 2009 refunds include all economic stimulus payments made that year. The average refund was $3,070. 2010 2009 2008 Credits can help you save big! Adoption Credit: ist Time Homebuyer Credit: 9,859 taxpayers filed for a total claim of $125 million.* 37,273 taxpayers filed new claims for a total claim of $262 million.* 2010 Only claim deductions you can prove! Keep receipts, have your bank and credit card statements in order and don't This totaled over $1.88 billion in fraudulent refunds prevented. claim anything you don't have record of. *As of March 31, 2011 CONSOLIDATED CREDIT COUNSELING SERVICES, INC. .. When debt is the problem, we are the solution. Sources: (1] http://money.msn.com/tax-preparation/your-15-point-tax-return-checklist-schnepper.aspx?page=2 [2] http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/10taxstatscard.pdf (3] http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2011reports/201140032fr.html [4]http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/federal_govt_finances_employment/federal_individual_income_tax_returns.html 335,341 fraudulent retur ere identified by the IRS 119,443,586 144,103,375 706'6L7'8II