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Do You Need to File a Tax Return This Year?

Depending on your income and other factors, you many not need to file a tax return. However, in some cases you may want to file anyhow.

2012 Income Tax by the Numbers

Recently, the IRS released the updated figures as they apply to 2012 income tax rates and schedules, via Revenue Procedure 2011-52.  Below is a summary of the key information from this procedure document. Adoption Assistance The credit for adoption expenses was changed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (and others) such that this credit was increased to $13,170, and the credit became refundable.  This provision will expire at the end of calendar year 2011, which will cause the credit to fall back to an amount of $10,000. This amount is then adjusted for inflation, such that the limit for 2012 is $12,650, and remains non-refundable. The limit for adopting a special needs child is the same at $12,650 for 2012. We’ll see if any changes come through to make any changes to the refundability. The modified AGI limits for the phase-out of adoption credit assistance is […]

Tax Benefits for College

When faced with the high cost of college, you want to find and take advantage of every opportunity that you can to cut down on your out-of-pocket expenses, before you give in and take out loans.  So after you’ve applied for all of the grants, scholarships, and other non-loan financial aid that you can, it’s time to consider what sorts of tax benefits may help out with your situation. Credits There are two different kinds of tax credits currently available in tax year 2010 and 2011: American Opportunity Credit – This credit is available for students (and parents of students) that are in their first four years in a degree program at college.  The credit is a maximum of $2,500, and is calculated as:  100% of the first $2,000, and 25% of the next $2,000 of Qualified Higher Education Expenses (QHEE) paid for that student.  QHEE is limited to tuition, […]