You must file a federal income tax return if your income is above a certain level; which varies depending on your filing status, age and the type of income you receive.
There are some instances when you may want to file a tax return even though you are not required to do so. Even if you don�t have to file, here are seven reasons why you may want to:
1. Federal Income Tax Withheld. You should file to get money back if Federal Income Tax was withheld from your pay, you made estimated tax payments, or had a prior year overpayment applied to this year�s tax.
2. Making Work Pay Credit. You may be able to take this credit if you had earned income from work. The maximum credit for a married couple filing a joint return is $800 and $400 for other taxpayers.
3. Earned Income Tax Credit. You may qualify for EITC if you worked, but did not earn a lot of money. EITC is a refundable tax credit; which means you could qualify for a tax refund.
4. Additional Child Tax Credit. This refundable credit may be available to you if you have at least one qualifying child and you did not get the full amount of the Child Tax Credit.
5. American Opportunity Credit. The maximum credit per student is $2,500 and the first four years of postsecondary education qualify.
6. First-Time Homebuyer Credit. The credit is a maximum of $8,000 or $4,000 if your filing status is married filing separately. To qualify for the credit, taxpayers must have bought � or entered into a binding contract to buy � a principal residence located in the United States on or before April 30, 2010. If you entered into a binding contract by April 30, 2010, you must have closed on the home on or before September 30, 2010. If you bought a home as your principle residence in 2010, you may be able to qualify and claim the credit even if you already owned a home. In this case, the maximum credit for long-time residents is $6,500, or $3,250 if your filing status is married filing separately.
- Health Coverage Tax Credit. Certain individuals, who are receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance, Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance, or pension benefit payments from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, may be eligible for a Health Coverage Tax Credit worth 80 percent of monthly health insurance premiums when you file your 2010 tax return.
Generally, most income you receive is considered taxable but there are situations when certain types of income are partially taxed or not taxed at all.
To help taxpayers understand the differences between taxable and non-taxable income, the Internal Revenue Service offers these common examples of items not included as taxable income:
� Adoption Expense Reimbursements for qualifying expenses
� Child support payments
� Gifts, bequests and inheritances
� Workers' compensation benefits
� Meals and Lodging for the convenience of your employer
� Compensatory Damages awarded for physical injury or physical sickness
� Welfare Benefits
� Cash Rebates from a dealer or manufacturer
Some income may be taxable under certain circumstances, but not taxable in other situations. Examples of items that may or may not be included in your taxable income are:
� Life Insurance: If you surrender a life insurance policy for cash, you must include in income any proceeds that are more than the cost of the life insurance policy. Life insurance proceeds, which were paid to you because of the insured person�s death, are not taxable unless the policy was turned over to you for a price.
� Scholarship or Fellowship Grant: If you are a candidate for a degree, you can exclude amounts you receive as a qualified scholarship or fellowship. Amounts used for room and board do not qualify.
� Non-cash Income: Taxable income may be in a form other than cash. One example of this is bartering, which is an exchange of property or services. The fair market value of goods and services exchanged is fully taxable and must be included as income on Form 1040 of both parties.
All other items�including income such as wages, salaries, tips and unemployment compensation � are fully taxable and must be included in your income unless it is specifically excluded by law.
