Who I trust with my taxes...

I personally use Turbo Tax to file my taxes. My wife educated me a few years ago on their easy to follow tax software and I've been hooked ever since. I used to use H&R Block, but after shelling out a bunch of money that almost always somehow equalled what I was getting back, I decided a change was in order. I'm not saying H&R Block is a bad service, but it's just not for me. I've used several other great tax services in the past and have no complaints about them.

More New 2009 Changes

Reminders

Taxpayer identification number for aliens. If you are a nonresident or resident alien and you do not have and are not eligible to get a social security number (SSN), you must apply for an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). Your spouse also may need an ITIN if he or she does not have and is not eligible to get an SSN. See Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. Also, see Social Security Numbers for Dependents , later.

Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.

Introduction

This publication discusses some tax rules that affect every person who may have to file a federal income tax return. It answers some basic questions: who must file; who should file; what filing status to use; how many exemptions to claim; and the amount of the standard deduction.

Who Must File explains who must file an income tax return. If you have little or no gross income, reading this section will help you decide if you have to file a return.

Table 1.2009 Filing Requirements Chart for Most Taxpayers

IF your filing status is...	AND at the end of 2009 you were...*	THEN file a return if your gross income was at least...**
single	under 65	$9,350
	65 or older	$10,750
head of household	under 65	$12,000
	65 or older	$13,400
married, filing jointly***	under 65 (both spouses)	$18,700
	65 or older (one spouse)	$19,800
	65 or older (both spouses)	$20,900
married, filing separately	any age	$3,650
qualifying widow(er) with dependent child	under 65	$15,050
	65 or older	$16,150

* If you were born before January 2, 1945, you are considered to be 65 or older at the end of 2009.

** Gross income means all income you received in the form of money, goods, property, and services that is not exempt from tax, including any income from sources outside the United States or from the sale of your main home (even if you can exclude part or all of it). Do not include any social security benefits unless (a) you are married filing a separate return and you lived with your spouse at any time during 2009, or (b) one-half of your social security benefits plus your other gross income and any tax-exempt interest is more than $25,000 ($32,000 if married filing jointly). If (a) or (b) applies, see the Form 1040 instructions to figure the taxable part of social security benefits you must include in gross income.

*** If you did not live with your spouse at the end of 2009 (or on the date your spouse died) and your gross income was at least $3,650, you must file a return regardless of your age.

Who Should File will help you decide if you should file a return, even if you are not required to do so.

Filing Status helps you determine which filing status to use. Filing status is important in determining whether you must file a return, your standard deduction, and your tax rate. It also helps determine what credits you may be entitled to.

Exemptions, which reduce your taxable income, are discussed in Exemptions .

Exemptions for Dependents explains the difference between a qualifying child and a qualifying relative. Other topics include the social security number requirement for dependents, the rules for multiple support agreements, and the rules for divorced or separated parents.

Standard Deduction gives the rules and dollar amounts for the standard deduction — a benefit for taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions. This section also discusses the standard deduction for taxpayers who are blind or age 65 or older, and special rules for dependents. In addition, this section should help you decide whether you would be better off taking the standard deduction or itemizing your deductions.

How To Get Tax Help explains how to get tax help from the IRS.

This publication is for U.S. citizens and resident aliens only. If you are a resident alien for the entire year, you must follow the same tax rules that apply to U.S. citizens. The rules to determine if you are a resident or nonresident alien are discussed in chapter 1 of Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.

Nonresident aliens. If you were a nonresident alien at any time during the year, the rules and tax forms that apply to you may be different from those that apply to U.S. citizens. See Publication 519.

Comments and suggestions. We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions. You can write to us at the following address:

Internal Revenue Service
Individual Forms and Publications Branch
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:I
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526
Washington, DC 20224

We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number, including the area code, in your correspondence. You can email us at *taxforms@irs.gov. (The asterisk must be included in the address.) Please put “Publications Comment” on the subject line. Although we cannot respond individually to each email, we do appreciate your feedback and will consider your comments as we revise our tax products.

Ordering forms and publications. Visit www.irs.gov/formspubs to download forms and publications, call 1-800-829-3676, or write to the address below and receive a response within 10 days after your request is received.

Internal Revenue Service
1201 N. Mitsubishi Motorway
Bloomington, IL 61705-6613

Tax questions. If you have a tax question, check the information available on www.irs.gov or call 1-800-829-1040. We cannot answer tax questions sent to either of the above addresses.

Useful Items - You may want to see:

Publication

• 559 Survivors, Executors, and Administrators

• 929 Tax Rules for Children and Dependents

• 4492-B Information for Affected Taxpayers in the Midwestern Disaster Areas

Form (and Instructions)

• Schedule L (Form 1040A or 1040) Standard Deduction for Certain Filers

• 1040X Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

• 2848 Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative

• 8332 Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent

• 8814 Parents' Election To Report Child's Interest and Dividends

• 8914 Exemption Amount for Taxpayers Housing Midwestern Displaced Individuals

New Tax Tips for 2009

New for 2009:

• Exemption amount. The amount you can deduct for each exemption has increased from $3,500 in 2008 to $3,650 in 2009.
• Exemption phaseout. You lose part of the benefit of your exemptions if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is above a certain amount. For 2009, the phaseout begins at $125,100 for married persons filing separately; $166,800 for single individuals; $208,500 for heads of household; and $250,200 for married persons filing jointly or qualifying widow(ers). However, in 2009, you can lose no more than 1/3 of the amount of your exemptions. In other words, each exemption cannot be reduced to less than $2,433.
• Definition of qualifying child revised. Beginning in 2009, the following changes have been made to the definition of a qualifying child.

  • To be your qualifying child, the child must be younger than you unless the child is permanently and totally disabled.

  • A child cannot be your qualifying child if he or she files a joint return, unless the return was filed only as a claim for refund.

  • If the parents of a child can claim the child as a qualifying child but no parent so claims the child, no one else can claim the child as a qualifying child unless that person's AGI is higher than the highest AGI of any of the child's parents who can claim the child.

  • Your child is a qualifying child for purposes of the child tax credit only if you can and do claim an exemption for him or her.

• Standard deduction increased. The standard deduction for most taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040 is higher in 2009 than it was in 2008. The amount depends on your filing status. In addition to the annual increase due to inflation adjustments, your 2009 standard deduction is increased by:

  • Any state or local real estate taxes you paid that would be deductible on Schedule A if you were itemizing deductions, up to $500 ($1,000 if married filing jointly),

  • Any state or local sales or excise taxes you paid on the purchase of a new motor vehicle after February 16, 2009, and

  • Any net disaster loss from a federally declared disaster.