WHAT’S NEW FOR 2011 FEDERAL INCOME TAX FORMS

Since, for a change, the IRS did not have to wait for Congress to pass extenders this year, many of the new 2011 forms and schedules have been available at the Forms and Instructions section of the IRS website for a while now.

There is no change to the “body” of Page 1 of the 2011 Form 1040.  It is exactly the same as 2010.  However there is a new line in the name and address section for “Foreign country name”, “Foreign province/country”, and “Foreign postal code”.

The “Other Taxes” section of Page 2 adjusts Line 59 to create 59a for “Household employment taxes from Schedule H” and 59b for First-time homebuyer credit repayment” (you do not necessarily have to complete Form 5405).  Line 60 now reads “Other taxes” with a place for one to enter code(s) identified in the instructions. 

The line for the Making Work Pay credit is removed from the “Payments” section – with 64 (a + B) through 72 the same as 2010.

The same change was made to the name and address section of the 2011 Form 1040A, with the rest of Page 1 unchanged.

Page 2 loses three (3) lines –

·      Advance earned income credit payments.

·      The addition of net income tax from Line 35 and advance EIC payments.

·      Making Work Pay Credit

The only change on the 2011 Schedule A is that Line 7 under “Taxes” now reads “Personal property taxes” instead of “New motor vehicle taxes”.

As I discussed in earlier posts the 2011 Schedules C and E have separate income lines for “Gross merchant card and third party network” receipts and gross receipts not from gross merchant card and third party networks, and Page 1 of Schedule D is totally restructured to refer to entries from the new Form 8949 (which replaces the Schedule D-1).

The 2011 Schedule SE has been revised to reflect the new temporary tax rate for the Social Security equivalent portion of self-employment tax, and remove the reference to reducing taxable earnings by the above-the-line self-employed health insurance deduction.

And, of course, there is no more Schedules L or M.

It appears that the “most changed” form for 2011 is Form 5695 (Residential Energy Credits).

I will report on changes to 2011 NJ and NY forms when the forms become available.

TTFN

IRS NEWS

Here is some information recently released by the Internal Revenue Service -

(1) The start of the 2011 tax filing season will begin in January, as usual, for most taxpayers. However, because of last week’s Tax Act, with several provisions that affect 2010, the IRS will need time to reprogram its processing systems.

Returns that include the state and local sales tax deduction, adjustments to income for higher education tuition and fees and educator expenses, and itemized deductions on Schedule A will need to wait to file their tax returns until tax processing systems are ready, which the IRS estimates will be in mid- to late February. The IRS will notify us when their systems are ready.

We have the irresponsible idiots in Congress to thank for these delays.

(2) The IRS has announced minor COLA adjustments to some items for 2011.

• The 2011 personal exemption is $3,700, up $50 from 2010.

• The 2011 Standard Deduction is $11,600 for married couples filing a joint return, up $200, $5,800 for Single filers and married individuals filing separately, up $100, and $8,500 for Head of Household, also up $100. The additional standard deduction for blind people and senior citizens is $1,150 for married individuals, up $50, and $1,450 for singles and heads of household, also up $50.

• Cost of living adjustments have been made to the Earned Income Credit. For 2011 the maximum investment income allowed under EIC is $3,150, up $50 from $3,100.

• For 2011 the Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) threshold for phase-out of the Lifetime Learning credit begins at $102,000 for joint filers, up from $100,000, and $51,000 for singles and heads of household, up from $50,000.