6-1. I am a student attending college and working part-time.
Do I have to file a tax return?
If you are an individual who may be claimed as a dependent on another
person's return and you are single and under age 65, you must file a
return if any of the following circumstances apply: first, your unearned
income was more than $700. Unearned income includes taxable interest,
dividends, capital gains, and trust distributions. If you had an investment loss,
your unearned income could be a negative amount. Second, your earned income
was more than $4,250. Earned income includes wages, tips, and salaries.
Third, your unearned income is more than $250 and your total income is
$700 or more. If you file Form 1040EZ, your total income is the same
as your adjusted gross income. Fourth, your unearned income is $250 or
less and your total income is $4,250 or more. If you are 65 or older,
or married, refer to the instructions in your tax package or get
Publication 929,
Tax Rules for Children and Dependents, or
Publication 501,
Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.
6-2. Can Form 1040EZ be used to claim the earned income credit?
The earned income credit can be claimed on Form 1040EZ, however, several
requirements must be met to use
Form 1040EZ.
If you do not meet all of them, you must use
Form 1040A or
Form 1040.
For additional information on the requirements, refer to
Tax Topic 352,
Which Form - 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ.
6-3. I'm single, live alone, and have no dependents.
Can I file as head of household?
No. To use this filing status, you must have paid over half the cost of keeping
up a home for you and a child or other qualifying person for over half the year.
For detailed information, refer to Tax Topic 353,
What is Your Filing Status, or
Publication 501,
Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.
6-4. What can I do to make sure I will not owe the IRS on my 2000 income tax return?
You can either increase the amount of income tax withheld from your pay or
make estimated tax payments for 2000. You may change the amount of income tax
withheld from your pay by filing a new Form W-4,
Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate.
Form 1040-ES,
Estimated Tax for Individuals, has a worksheet to see if you
need to make estimated tax payments. For more details, refer to
Topic 355, Estimated Tax, or
Publication 505,
Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.
6-5. My husband passed away last year, and I will be filing a joint return.
Are any special return notations required to indicate my husband is deceased?
If you are a surviving spouse filing a joint return and no personal representative
has been appointed, you should sign the return and write in the signature area,
"filing as surviving spouse." The final return should have the word "Deceased,"
the decedent's name, and the date of death written across the top of the return.
For additional information, see Topic 356, Decedents.
6-6. I am adopting a child and do not yet have a social security number for
the child. How can I claim the exemption for the child?
Parents in the process of a domestic U. S. adoption who do not have and/or
are unable to obtain the child's Social Security Number (SSN) should request
an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN) in order to claim the child
as a dependent and (if eligible) to claim the child care credit. Form W-7A,
Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending Adoptions, is used by
qualifying taxpayers to obtain an ATIN. Form W-7A may be
downloaded in Adobe PDF format,
picked up at any IRS walk-in site or ordered by calling 1-800-829-3676.
For more information about the ATIN, see the
ATIN program.
If the child is not a U. S. citizen or resident, use
Form W-7,
Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number,
to obtain an ITIN. For more information, refer to
Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
Tax Topics & FAQs | 1999 Tax Year Archives | Tax Help Archives | Home
