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Tips for Filing Your 2007 Tax
Return
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| January 13, 2007
Whether you want to think about it or not, April 15, 2008 is
almost here. Before you begin to prepare your Federal income
tax return, here are a few things to consider:
Many tax professionals use products such as
Lacerte and TurboTax Professional, but if you're a do-it-yourselfer, you
can still get good results with products like TurboTax and Tax
Cut. TurboTax comes in several flavors, including editions for
those filing State tax returns and those with small businesses.
And if you're going to prepare your own taxes, don't forget additional
resources such as J. K. Lasser's Your Income Tax.
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Here are a few things to check out
-- you can find out more on each of them by clicking on the resources on
this page, and by going
to the home page, clicking
Government, etc on the menu at the
left of the page, and selecting the Internal Revenue Service
link. You can also check out the IRS Tax Tips by clicking
here.
- The Alternative Minimum Tax legislation enacted in December 2007
required the IRS to revise their computer programs. They expect
these changes to be ready by February 11. You will be unable to file
your return before then if your return includes any of the forms
listed below. You can read more about
this
here.
- Form 8863, Education Credits
- Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits
- Schedule 2, Form 1040A Child and Dependent Care Expenses
- Form 8396 Mortgage Interest Credit
- Form 8859 District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit
- Mileage deductions (cents per mile)
have changed for certain categories. The deductions may be subject
to certain limitations. You can read more
here.
You can read more about the rate change for the last half of 2008
here.
| Deduction |
July - Dec 2008 |
Jan - June
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2006 Katrina |
| Business |
58.5 |
50.5 |
48.5 |
44.5 |
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| Medical & Moving |
27.0 |
19.0 |
20.0 |
18.0 |
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| Charitable - General |
14.0 |
14.0 |
14.0 |
14.0 |
34.0 |
| Charitable - Reimbursement |
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48.5 |
- Personal exemptions have increased
to $3,500 for most taxpayers.
- The standard deduction is now
$10,900 for married filing jointly, $5,450 for single and married
filing separately, $8,000 for heads of household.
By the way, all the deductions and credits in the world don't matter
if the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) quietly takes them all back (and a
lot more). Contact your
representatives in Washington and voice your support for a repeal of
this onerous tax.
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