The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers that it is processing tax returns claiming benefits extended or changed by recent legislation. Most taxpayers can file when they are ready – and as they normally would – if they are eligible for one or more of these benefits and claim them on their 2019 federal tax return.
Taxpayers can get the most out of various tax benefits and get useful tips on preparing their 2019 federal income tax returns by consulting a free, comprehensive tax guide available on IRS.gov. Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax, features an in-depth look at on tax changes for 2019 including recent legislative changes and covers the general rules for filing a federal income tax return. It supplements the information contained in the tax form instruction booklet. This 277-page guide – available online as a PDF, HTML or eBook ? also provides thousands of interactive links to help taxpayers quickly get answers to their questions.
Certain individual tax provisions extended
- Deduction for above-the-line qualified tuition and related expenses claimed on Form 8917, Tuition and Fees Deduction.
- Deduction for mortgage insurance premiums treated as qualified residence interest, claimed on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions.
- Deduction for unreimbursed medical and dental expenses as the floor was lowered to 7.5% of adjusted gross income and claimed on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions.
- Credit for nonbusiness energy property claimed on Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits.
- Income exclusion for canceled debt for qualified principal residence indebtedness where the taxpayer defaulted on a mortgage that they took out to buy, build or substantially improve their main home claimed on Form 982, Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness.
Kiddie Tax modification
Recent legislation also modified the rules related to what’s commonly called the “Kiddie Tax” for certain children who may be able to calculate their tax based on the tax rate of the child’s parent. For tax year 2019, taxpayers can elect this alternative application for the tax on their unearned income by completing Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income, differently depending on their election. See the Form 8615 instructions for Part II Tax for more information. Taxpayers who make this election for 2019 must include a statement with their return specifying “election to modify tax of unearned income.” The statement can be made on the return (for example, on line 7 or at the top of Form 8615) or on an attachment filed with the return.
Disaster tax relief
Disaster tax relief (PDF) was also enacted for those affected by certain Federally declared disasters. This includes an increased standard deduction based on qualified disaster losses and an election to use 2018 earned income to figure the 2019 earned income credit and additional child tax credit.
Certain taxpayers affected by federally declared disasters may be eligible for an automatic 60-Day extension for filing, paying their taxes, and other administrative deadlines.
Special rules may apply for taxpayers who received a distribution from an individual retirement arrangement, profit-sharing plan or retirement plan and their main home was in one of the federally declared disaster areas eligible for these special rules.
