TaxAct has a tool to compare how Married Filing Jointly vs. Married Filing Separate will benefit you so you can choose how to file (add a state to your return, and the federal information will flow there so you can see how your state tax laws affect your return too). To view the Joint Vs. […]
Estimated tax payments are periodic prepayments made to the IRS and state tax agencies to cover income not subject to withholding. This includes income from self-employment, interest, dividends, rental income, capital gains, and other earnings. TaxAct provides tools to help calculate, schedule, and manage these payments efficiently. Individual Estimated Tax Payments are calculated and paid […]
Taxpayers must file Schedule H with their Form 1040 when they have household employees and meet certain IRS wage or withholding thresholds. A household employee is someone you hire to perform work in or around your home and you control what work is done and how it is done. This generally includes workers such as […]
You must pay SE tax and file Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-Employment Tax, if either of the following applies: Your net earnings from self-employment (excluding church employee income) were $400 or more. You had church employee income of $108.28 or more. NOTE: The SE tax rules apply no matter how old you are and even if […]
To enter or review an adjustment on Schedule SE (Form 1040) (example: if some of your self-employment income is exempt from self-employment tax), follow the steps below. Online Dashboard From within your TaxAct return, click Taxes & Miscellaneous. On smaller devices, click the menu at the top left corner of your screen, then make your […]
See Calculating and Paying Quarterly Estimated Taxes.
To enter Form 1099-MISC, follow the steps below. Online Dashboard From within your TaxAct return, click Income. On smaller devices, click the menu at the top left corner of your screen, then make your selection. If the 1099-MISC is related to your business or rental, click the Business & Self Employed drop-down and click Add beside the […]
Whether your child was born alive depends on state or local law. There must be proof of a live birth shown by an official document, such as a birth certificate. If the child died before they were issued a social security number (SSN), enter “DIED” in the Social Security Number field (see Dependents – Entering Information […]
See IRS Publication 504 for more information about alimony. NOTE: Amounts paid as alimony or separate maintenance payments under a divorce or separation agreement executed after 2018 are not deductible by the payer and are not included in the income of the recipient. Alimony Received To enter alimony received in the TaxAct program, follow the […]
Personal exemption deductions for yourself, your spouse, or your dependents were eliminated as of tax year 2018. Refer to the links below for more information about dependents: Publication 501 Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information Whom May I Claim as a Dependent? IRS Interactive Tax Assistant Dependents – Entering Information in Program Note that any […]
For information on how to enter or edit a dependent in the TaxAct program, go to the Dependents – Entering Information in Program FAQ. Note: A child born on any date in a given year – even on December 31 – is considered a dependent for the entire year.
For information on how to enter or edit a dependent in the TaxAct program, go to the Dependents – Entering Information in Program FAQ. When entering your dependent, select the Dependent Citizenship type by selecting it in the drop-down Dependent Citizenship. Options include: None selected U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien Resident of […]
Form 6251 is used to calculate the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), a separate tax that limits how much certain deductions and tax benefits can reduce a taxpayer’s total tax. It applies to taxpayers with income or deductions that receive favorable treatment under regular tax rules. The form also helps determine the tentative minimum tax, which […]
Income and Filing Status As a dependent, you have a filing requirement if you had income (earned or unearned) above the threshold amount for your filing status. For details on each threshold, see Publication 501. Unearned income includes taxable interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. It also includes unemployment compensation, taxable social security benefits, […]
Note: Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child is now Qualifying Surviving Spouse Per IRS Publication 17 Your Federal Income Tax (For Individuals), page 27: Qualifying Widow(er) If your spouse died in 2024, you can use married filing jointly as your filing status for 2024 if you otherwise qualify to use that status. The year of death […]
The amount of excess premium tax credit repayment, calculated on Line 29 of Federal Form 8962 Premium Tax Credit (PTC), has a different calculation if there was a self-employed health insurance deduction claimed on Line 16 of Schedule 1 (Form 1040) Additional Income and Adjustments to Income. Per IRS Instructions for Form 8962, page 15: […]
The IRS First-Time Abate program provides certain penalty relief to taxpayers who have been tax compliant for the previous three years or have not previously been required to file a return. If you have a clean compliance history for the last three years, you may be eligible for first-time relief from the following penalties: Failure […]
The payment or receipt of child support does not affect your taxable income. You should not report child support payments in your income. If you make child support payments, you cannot deduct the amount you paid. If you receive child support payments, the amount you receive is not taxed. Do not report this amount on […]
To enter royalty income in the TaxAct program, go to our Form 1099-MISC – Royalties FAQ. Per IRS Publication 525 Taxable and Nontaxable Income, page 17: Royalties Royalties from copyrights; patents; and oil, gas, and mineral properties are taxable as ordinary income. In most cases, you report royalties on Schedule E (Form 1040). However, if […]
A person who is your qualifying relative only because he or she lived with you all year as a member of your household is not a qualifying person for the Head of Household filing status even if he or she is your dependent. Per IRS Publication 501 Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, page 10: […]
Per IRS Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax For Individuals, page 23: Considered married. You are considered married for the whole year if, on the last day of your tax year, you and your spouse meet any one of the following tests. You are married and living together. You are living together in a common […]
Usually, tax relief assistance payments are not taxable. People in a presidentially-declared disaster area who receive grants from state programs, charitable organizations, or employers to cover medical, transportation, or temporary housing expenses do not include these grants in their income. In the case of a federally-declared disaster, an affected taxpayer can call 1-866-562-5227 to speak […]
The law sets the self-employment tax rate as a percentage of your net earnings from self-employment. This rate consists of 12.4% for social security and 2.9% for Medicare taxes. The maximum amount of net earnings subject to the 12.4% social security portion of the self-employment (SE) tax for 2023 is $160,200. All net earnings of […]
The TaxAct program does not support a separate Schedule D (Form 1040) Capital Gains and Losses for Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) purposes. You would need to manually complete the form, enter the amount on Line 17 of Form 6251 Alternative Minimum Tax – Individuals, and paper-file the return. Note that any link in the information […]
To report Form 1099-MISC Miscellaneous Income, Box 12 (if you need help reporting Form 1099-MISC, go to our Form 1099-MISC – Entering in Program FAQ): From within your Form 1099-MISC, continue with the interview process until you reach the screen titled 1099-MISC: Enter information on form. Click the data entry field below Box 12 – Section […]
Railroad employees have these possible entries in Box 14 of Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement: RRTA Compensation Tier I Tier II Medicare Tax Additional Medicare Tax If you’re a railroad employee covered by the Railroad Retirement Act (RRTA), these amounts are located in Box 14 with the previous descriptions. Enter the correct amounts for […]
Per IRS Publication 501 Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, page 8: Head of Household You may be able to file as head of household if you meet all the following requirements. You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. See Marital Status, earlier, and Considered Unmarried, later. You paid […]
Per IRS Publication 501 Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, page 11: Tests To Be a Qualifying Relative The person can’t be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. The person either (a) must be related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who don’t have to live […]
If your dependent receives a Form SSA-1099, you are not supposed to report it on your tax return. Your dependent needs to report the SSA-1099 on their own tax return (if they are required to file). If you need help reporting Form SSA-1099, go to our Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 – Entering Social Security or […]
If you list a child in the process of being adopted as a dependent on your tax return, you need to provide a valid Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN) in order to file. If you have not received the ATIN for your child yet, there are two options: File for an extension with Form 4868 Application […]
Per IRS Frequently Asked Questions Dependents webpage: Question: My child was stillborn. May I claim my child as a dependent on my tax return? Answer: In order to claim a newborn child as a dependent, state or local law must treat the child as having been born alive, and there must be proof of a […]
If you realize a net business loss on Schedule C (Form 1040) Profit or Loss From Business, you are not required to file Schedule SE (Form 1040) Self-Employment Tax or pay self-employment taxes. However, the IRS does provide an optional self-employment tax calculation method which may give you credit toward Social Security without increasing your […]
IF the noncustodial parent qualifies, they can claim: claim the child as a dependent the child tax credit for the child (up to $2,000) ONLY the custodial parent can claim: head of household filing status due to that child earned income credit due to that child the credit for child and dependent care expenses the […]
Per IRS Publication 531 Reporting Tip Income, page 2: All tips you receive are income and are subject to federal income tax. You must include in gross income all tips you receive directly, charged tips paid to you by your employer, and your share of any tips you receive under a tip-splitting or tip-pooling arrangement. […]
If you report a self-employment tax adjustment on Schedule SE (Form 1040) Self-Employment Tax, the TaxAct® program will automatically utilize Section B – Long Schedule SE. To enter or review a self-employment tax adjustment, go to our Schedule SE – Adjustments FAQ. Related Links Instructions for Schedule SE Self Employment Tax Note that any link […]
Some types of income you receive are not taxable. When you total your gross income to determine whether you are required to file a tax return, do not include your nontaxable income. Keep records of your nontaxable income. Some types of income that generally are not taxable include: Child support payments Welfare benefits Life insurance […]
If your dependent has two last names or a hyphenated last name, both last names need to be entered in the last name data entry field as it appears on their social security card. If the social security card has a middle initial/name on it, that will need to be entered after the first name […]
The TaxAct® program will not always calculate all the possible preference items from the list on Form 6251 Alternative Minimum Tax—Individuals. Checking or unchecking certain boxes will affect the calculations on Form 6251. To access Form 6251, go to our Form 6251 – Alternative Minimum Tax – AMT FAQ. Note that any link in the information above […]
If you are completing the parents’ return, DO NOT enter the information for Form 8615 Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income but DO complete Form 8814 Parents’ Election To Report Child’s Interest and Dividends. To enter information for the child’s return (Form 8615): From within your TaxAct return (Online or Desktop), click Federal […]
The Form 1099-INT Interest Income or Form 1099-OID Original Issue Discount you received will show the amount of any penalty you were charged. The TaxAct program will transfer the information to line 22 of Schedule 1 (Form 1040) Additional Income and Adjustments to Income after you report it on Form 1099-INT or Form 1099-OID. To […]
Below you will find information to help you determine if you are eligible to file your tax return with the filing status of Head of Household. If necessary, review IRS Publication 17 Your Federal Income Tax (For Individuals) for additional details before making a final determination. You can also go to the IRS Interactive Tax […]
Wondering what’s changed in the tax world from last year? We put together the top six 2022 federal tax changes that taxpayers like you should know about before filing your income tax return in 2023. Tax year 2021 saw major tax changes due to the coronavirus pandemic, but many of those changes went away in […]
Where is my Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) located on my prior year return? Form 1040 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, Line 11 – (round amount to the nearest dollar) If you used TaxAct Desktop to file the return, you can find the return file on your computer. Go to our Consumer Editions – Locating Return […]
If you need to remove the spouse exemption on your return: From within your TaxAct® return (Online or Desktop) click on the Federal tab. On smaller devices, click in the upper left-hand corner, then select Federal. Click Basic Information to expand the category, then click Name and Address Continue to the screen titled Spouse TEMPORARILY […]
The worksheet in the TaxAct® program titled Form 6251 – Home Mortgage Interest Adjustment Worksheet – Line 4 calculates the amount to transfer to Line 4 of IRS Form 6251 Alternative Minimum Tax – Individuals as an adjustment to the AMT tax calculated. To view the worksheet in TaxAct Online: Sign in to your TaxAct Online return Click the My […]
If you are claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return, you cannot claim dependents on your own return. If you have inadvertently answered you are being claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer’s return, your dependents will not appear in Box 6c on page 1 of Form 1040. To correct this, if necessary: From […]
You can claim an exemption for yourself, your spouse, and each of your dependents. You can generally deduct $4,050 from your adjusted gross income for each exemption you claim in 2017, which will lower your taxable income. The total number of exemptions is reported on Line 6d of Form 1040, and the total dollar amount […]
If you need to calculate late filing or late payment penalties, you will need to work directly with the IRS. TaxAct CANNOT calculate late filing nor late payment penalties. Go to IRS Instructions for Form 2210 Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates, and Trusts for more information. If you owe tax and are filing […]
Per IRS Publication 505 Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, page 7: Exemption From Withholding If you claim exemption from withholding, your employer won’t withhold federal income tax from your wages. The exemption applies only to income tax, not to social security or Medicare tax. You can claim exemption from withholding for 2022 only if both […]
For purposes of the additional exemption on Line 39 of the IRS Form 1040, you are considered to be your “new” age on the day before your birthday. For example, if your 65th birthday is on January 1, 2018, you are considered 65 for 2017.
The HealthWatch report in the TaxAct® program provides comprehensive information on the new health care law rules, how to get signed up through your state’s health insurance marketplaces, and provides a potential penalty calculation if you were not to get minimum essential health insurance in 2017. To review and/or print the HealthWatch Report in your […]
Line 6c of IRS Form 1040 asks for three different types of dependents. Number of children on 6c who: Lived with you Number of children on 6c who: Did not live with you due to divorce or separation Dependents on 6c not entered above If the relationship is entered as any of the following, and […]
