The Earned Income Tax Credit has made the lives of working people a little easier since 1975. EITC can be a boost for workers who earned $50,270 or less in 2012. Yet the IRS estimates that one out of five eligible taxpayers fails to claim their EITC each year. The IRS wants everyone who is eligible for the credit to get the credit that they’ve earned.

Here are the top five things the IRS wants you to know about this credit.

1. EITC is valuable.  The EITC not only reduces the federal tax you owe, but could result in a refund. You base the amount of EITC on your earned income and the number of qualifying children in your household. The average credit was around $2,200 last year. If you qualify, the credit could be worth up to $5,891. 

2. Review your eligibility.  If your financial, marital or parental situations change from year to year, you should review the EITC eligibility rules. Just because you didn’t qualify last year doesn’t mean you won’t this year.

3. File your return.  If you are eligible for the EITC, you must file a federal income tax return to claim the credit – even if you are not otherwise required to file. Remember to include Schedule EIC, Earned Income Credit, when you file your Form 1040. If you file Form 1040A, use the EIC worksheet and keep it for your records. If you use IRS e-file to prepare and file your tax return, the software will guide you and not let you forget this important step. E-file does the work and figures your EITC for you!

4. Know the qualifications.  You should understand the qualifications for EITC before claiming it, including:

• • You do not qualify for EITC if your tax filing status is Married Filing Separately.
  • You must have a valid Social Security number for yourself, your spouse – if filing a joint tax return – and any qualifying child listed on Schedule EIC.
  • You must have earned income. You have earned income if you are paid wages, you are self-employed, you have income from farming or you receive disability income.
  • Married couples and single people without children may qualify. If you do not have qualifying children, you must also meet age and residency requirements as well as dependency rules.
  • Special rules apply to members of the U.S. Armed Forces in combat zones. Members of the military can elect to include their nontaxable combat pay as earned income for the purpose of computing the EITC. Even if you make this choice, your combat pay will remain nontaxable.

5. Use the EITC Assistant.  It’s easy to determine if you qualify. The EITC Assistant, a helpful tool available on IRS.gov, removes the guesswork from eligibility rules. Just answer a few simple questions to find out if you qualify and to estimate the amount of your EITC.

With IRS Free File, you can claim EITC by using brand name tax preparation software to prepare and e-file your tax return for free. It's available exclusively at IRS.gov/freefile. Free help preparing your return to claim your EITC is also available at one of thousands of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites around the country. To find the volunteer site nearest to you, use the VITA locator tool on IRS.gov.

For more information about the EITC, see IRS Publication 596, Earned Income Credit. It’s available in English and Spanish on IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

Additional IRS Resources:

• EITC Assistant
• IRS Free File
• VITA locator tool
• Schedule EIC
• Publication 596, Earned Income Credit (EIC)

IRS YouTube Videos:

• Earned Income Tax Credit - English | Spanish

IRS Podcasts:

• Earned Income Tax Credit - English | Spanish 

IRS YouTube Video: 
Earned Income Tax Credit:  English | Spanish

Podcast:
Earned Income Tax Credit:  English | Spanish

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service and partners nationwide launched the Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day outreach campaign today, aimed at helping millions of Americans who earned $50,270 or less take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

Local officials and community organizations across the country are sponsoring over 250 news conferences and other outreach events highlighting the benefits of this key work incentive for low-and moderate-income workers and working families.

The annual campaign is necessary because one-third of the eligible population changes each year as their financial, marital and parental statuses change. Although an estimated four out of five eligible workers and families get the credit, one in five still miss out on it, either because they don’t claim it when filing, or don’t file a tax return at all.

“A large part of the nation sees major changes every year with their tax situation,” said IRS Acting Commissioner Steven T. Miller. “This year, millions of workers could qualify for EITC for the first time, and the IRS urges them not to overlook this valuable credit.”

The EITC varies by income, family size and filing status. The average EITC amount last year was around $2,200. People can see if they qualify by visiting IRS.gov and answering a few questions using the EITC Assistant. In tax year 2011, over 27 million eligible workers and families received nearly $62 billion total in EITC.

Workers, self-employed people and farmers who earned $50,270 or less last year could receive larger refunds if they qualify for the EITC. That could mean up to $475 in EITC for people without children, and a maximum credit of up to $5,891 for those with three or more qualifying children. Unlike most deductions and credits, the EITC is refundable. In other words, those eligible may get a refund from the IRS even if they owe no tax. 

The EITC provides a financial boost for millions of hard-working Americans. However, the IRS reminds taxpayers that even though most federal tax refunds are issued in less than 21 days, many factors can affect how long it may take for taxpayers to get their refunds. It is also possible that a tax return could require additional review and therefore take longer to process. Taxpayers can track the status of their refund with the “Where’s My Refund?” tool available for use on the IRS.gov website after the IRS starts processing tax returns on Jan. 30.

How to Claim the EITC

Following the late tax law changes made by Congress, the IRS plans to open the 2013 tax filing season and begin processing both paper and e-filed individual income returns on Jan. 30 after updating forms and completing programming and testing of its processing systems. The vast majority of taxpayers who qualify can begin to file EITC claims with their federal tax return starting on Jan. 30, 2013.

To get the EITC, workers must file a tax return, even if they are not required to file, and specifically claim the credit. Those eligible for the EITC have free options to file a tax return to claim the credit:

• Free File on IRS.gov Free brand-name tax software walks people through a question and answer format to help them prepare their returns and claim every credit and deduction for which they are eligible. The program also allows people to file electronically for free, using Free File Fillable Forms, which are online versions of our paper forms designed for taxpayers comfortable preparing their own returns.
• Free tax preparation sites EITC-eligible workers can seek free tax preparation at thousands of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) sites. To locate the nearest site, taxpayers can search www.IRS.gov or call the IRS at 800-906-9887. Taxpayers can also find VITA/TCE sites by calling their community’s 211 or 311 line for local services.
• IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers EITC-eligible workers can seek free assistance in IRS locations across the country. Locations are listed online at www.IRS.gov. Hours and services offered vary by location and should be checked before visiting.

More information on EITC and detailed eligibility rules are available at www.irs.gov/eitc. IRS partners should also visit EITC Central at www.eitc.irs.gov for helpful resources.

The Tax Year 2012 Business Rule Change page has been posted on IRS.gov.

You can access the site at Tax Year 2012 Schemas and Business Rules

We will continue to keep this file updated as changes occur.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service today announced guidance to borrowers, mortgage loan holders and loan servicers who are participating in the Principal Reduction AlternativeSM offered through the Department of the Treasury’s and Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Home Affordable Modification Program® (HAMP-PRA®).

To help financially distressed homeowners lower their monthly mortgage payments, Treasury and HUD established HAMP, which is described at www.makinghomeaffordable.gov. Under HAMP-PRA, the principal of the borrower’s mortgage may be reduced by a predetermined amount called the PRA Forbearance Amount if the borrower satisfies certain conditions during a trial period. The principal reduction occurs over three years.

More specifically, if the loan is in good standing on the first, second and third annual anniversaries of the effective date of the trial period, the loan servicer reduces the unpaid principal balance of the loan by one-third of the initial PRA Forbearance Amount on each anniversary date. This means that if the borrower continues to make timely payments on the loan for three years, the entire PRA Forbearance Amount is forgiven. To encourage mortgage loan holders to participate in HAMP–PRA, the HAMP program administrator will make an incentive payment to the loan holder (called a PRA investor incentive payment) for each of the three years in which the loan principal balance is reduced.

Guidance on Tax Consequences to Borrowers

The guidance issued today provides that PRA investor incentive payments made by the HAMP program administrator to mortgage loan holders are treated as payments on the mortgage loans by the United States government on behalf of the borrowers. These payments are generally not taxable to the borrowers under the general welfare doctrine.

If the principal amount of a mortgage loan is reduced by an amount that exceeds the total amount of the PRA investor incentive payments made to the mortgage loan holder, the borrower may be required to include the excess amount in gross income as income from the discharge of indebtedness. However, many borrowers will qualify for an exclusion from gross income.

For example, a borrower may be eligible to exclude the discharge of indebtedness income from gross income if (1) the discharge of indebtedness occurs (in other words, the loan is modified) before Jan. 1, 2014, and the mortgage loan is qualified principal residence indebtedness, or (2) the discharge of indebtedness occurs when the borrower is insolvent. For additional exclusions that may apply, see Publication 4681, Canceled Debts, Foreclosures, Repossessions, and Abandonments (for Individuals).

Borrowers receiving aid under the HAMP–PRA program may report any discharge of indebtedness income undefined whether included in, or excluded from, gross income undefined either in the year of the permanent modification of the mortgage loan or ratably over the three years in which the mortgage loan principal is reduced on the servicer’s books. Borrowers who exclude the discharge of indebtedness income must report both the amount of the income and any resulting reduction in basis or tax attributes on Form 982 Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Basis Adjustment).

Guidance on Tax Consequences to Mortgage Loan Holders

The guidance issued today explains that mortgage loan holders are required to file a Form 1099-C with respect to a borrower who realizes discharge of indebtedness income of $600 or more for the year in which the permanent modification of the mortgage loan occurs. This rule applies regardless of when the borrower chooses to report the income (that is, in the year of the permanent modification or one-third each year as the mortgage loan principal is reduced) and regardless of whether the borrower excludes some or all of the amount from gross income.

Penalty relief is provided for mortgage loan holders that fail to timely file and furnish required Forms 1099-C, as long as certain requirements described in the guidance are satisfied.

Details are in Revenue Procedure 2013-16 available on IRS.gov.

The Modernized e-File (MeF) Sunday maintenance build will be extended. The system will not be available from Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 1:00am, Eastern until Sunday, January 20, 2013 at approximately 11:00am, Eastern. The extended build window is needed to implement system enhancements impacting the upcoming filing season.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you in advance for refraining from accessing the MeF Production and ATS environments during this period.

Tax-free IRA rollovers to charity extended
IRA owners, age 70½ or older, can transfer tax-free up to $100,000 for both 2012 (by February 1, 2013) and 2013 to eligible charities.

In-plan Roth rollovers expanded
More funds can be rolled into designated Roth accounts.

Phone forums

• Ethics – professional standards of conduct for individuals who advise retirement plans (February 13 at 2 p.m. ET)
• 2012 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements for plans that will submit a determination letter application beginning February 1, 2013 (February 28 at 2 p.m. ET)

List of pre-approved plans
Second six-year cycle (PPA) list of pre-approved defined contribution plans submitted on or after February 1, 2011.

ATTN: Software Developers, Return Transmitters and Authorized IRS e-file Providers/EROs 

The Tax Year 2012 XML Stylesheets for Processing Year 2013 have been updated on IRS.gov.

You can access the new files from the Modernized e-File (MeF) Stylesheets site on IRS.gov.

Questions or comments may be directed to the e-help Desk at 1-866-255-0654.

Revenue Procedure 2013-15 provides the 2013 cost-of-living adjustments for inflation for certain items, including the tax tables.  It also includes items whose values were specified in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), such as the beginning of the 39.6% income tax brackets; the beginning income levels for the limitation on certain itemized deductions, and the beginning income levels for the phaseout of the personal exemptions.  In addition Rev. Proc. 2013-5 modifies Rev. Proc. 2011-52 to reflect an amendment to section 132(f)(2) made by ATRA concerning qualified transportation fringe benefits.  Specifically, for 2012, the monthly limitation regarding the aggregate fringe benefit exclusion amount for transit passes and transportation in a commuter highway vehicle is $240. 

Revenue Procedure 2013-15 will be published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2013-5 on January 28, 2013.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service today announced a simplified option that many owners of home-based businesses and some home-based workers may use to figure their deductions for the business use of their homes.

In tax year 2010, the most recent year for which figures are available, nearly 3.4 million taxpayers claimed deductions for business use of a home (commonly referred to as the home office deduction).

The new optional deduction, capped at $1,500 per year based on $5 a square foot for up to 300 square feet, will reduce the paperwork and recordkeeping burden on small businesses by an estimated 1.6 million hours annually.

"This is a common-sense rule to provide taxpayers an easier way to calculate and claim the home office deduction," said Acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller. "The IRS continues to look for similar ways to combat complexity and encourages people to look at this option as they consider tax planning in 2013."

The new option provides eligible taxpayers an easier path to claiming the home office deduction. Currently, they are generally required to fill out a 43-line form (Form 8829) often with complex calculations of allocated expenses, depreciation and carryovers of unused deductions.  Taxpayers claiming the optional deduction will complete a significantly simplified form.

Though homeowners using the new option cannot depreciate the portion of their home used in a trade or business, they can claim allowable mortgage interest, real estate taxes and casualty losses on the home as itemized deductions on Schedule A. These deductions need not be allocated between personal and business use, as is required under the regular method.

Business expenses unrelated to the home, such as advertising, supplies and wages paid to employees are still fully deductible.

Current restrictions on the home office deduction, such as the requirement that a home office must be used regularly and exclusively for business and the limit tied to the income derived from the particular business, still apply under the new option. 

The new simplified option is available starting with the 2013 return most taxpayers file early in 2014. Further details on the new option can be found in Revenue Procedure 2013-13, posted today on IRS.gov. Revenue Procedure 2013-13 is effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and the IRS welcomes public comment on this new option to improve it for tax year 2014 and later years. There are three ways to submit comments.

• E-mail to: Notice.Comments@irscounsel.treas.gov. Include “Rev. Proc. 2013-13” in the subject line.
• Mail to: Internal Revenue Service, CC:PA:LPD:PR (Rev. Proc. 2013-13), Room 5203, P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044.
• Hand deliver to: CC:PA:LPD:PR (Rev. Proc. 2013-13), Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The deadline for comment is April 15, 2013.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service announced today annual inflation adjustments for tax year 2013, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes from the recently passed American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. 

The tax items for 2013 of greatest interest to most taxpayers include the following changes.

• Beginning in tax year 2013 (generally for tax returns filed in 2014), a new tax rate of 39.6 percent has been added for individuals whose income exceeds $400,000 ($450,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return). The other marginal rates undefined 10, 15, 25, 28, 33 and 35 percent undefined remain the same as in prior years. The guidance contains the taxable income thresholds for each of the marginal rates.
• The standard deduction rises to $6,100 ($12,200 for married couples filing jointly), up from $5,950 ($11,900 for married couples filing jointly) for tax year 2012.
• The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 added a limitation for itemized deductions claimed on 2013 returns of individuals with incomes of $250,000 or more ($300,000 for married couples filing jointly).
• The personal exemption rises to $3,900, up from the 2012 exemption of $3,800. However beginning in 2013, the exemption is subject to a phase-out that begins with adjusted gross incomes of $250,000 ($300,000 for married couples filing jointly). It phases out completely at $372,500 ($422,500 for married couples filing jointly.)
• The Alternative Minimum Tax exemption amount for tax year 2013 is $51,900 ($80,800, for married couples filing jointly), set by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which indexes future amounts for inflation. The 2012 exemption amount was $50,600 ($78,750 for married couples filing jointly).
• The maximum Earned Income Credit amount is $6,044 for taxpayers filing jointly who have 3 or more qualifying children, up from a total of $5,891 for tax year 2012.
• Estates of decedents who die during 2013 have a basic exclusion amount of $5,250,000, up from a total of $5,120,000 for estates of decedents who died in 2012.
• For tax year 2013, the monthly limitation regarding the aggregate fringe benefit exclusion amount for transit passes and transportation in a commuter highway vehicle is $245, up from $240 for tax year 2012 (the legislation provided a retroactive increase from the $125 limit that had been in place).

Details on these inflation adjustments and others are contained in Revenue Procedure 2013-15, which will be published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2013-5 on Jan.28, 2013. Other inflation adjusted items were published in October 2012 in Revenue Procedure 2012-41.