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IRS Presents: Four Facts Every Parent Should Know about Their Child’s Investment Income
The IRS wants parents to be aware of the tax rules that affect their children’s investment income. The following four facts will help parents determine whether their child’s investment income will be taxed at the parents’ rate or the child’s rate.
1. Investment Income Children with investment income may have part or all of this income taxed at their parents’ tax rate rather than at the child’s rate. Investment income includes interest, dividends, capital gains and other unearned income.
2. Age Requirement The child’s tax must be figured using the parents’ rates if the child has investment income of more than $1,900 and meet one of three age requirements for 2009:
- The child was born after January 1, 1992.
- The child was born after January 1, 1991, and before January 2, 1992, and has earned income that does not exceed one-half of their own support for the year.
- The child was born after January 1, 1986, and before January 2, 1991, and a full-time student with earned income that does not exceed one-half of the child’s support for the year.
3. Form 8615 To figure the child’s tax using the parents’ rate for the child’s return, fill out Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who Have Investment Income of More Than $1,900, and attach it to the child’s federal income tax return.
4. Form 8814 When certain conditions are met, a parent may be able to avoid having to file a tax return for the child by including the child’s income on the parent’s tax return. In this situation, the parent would file Form 8814, Parents’ Election To Report Child’s Interest and Dividends.
More information can be found in IRS Publication 929, Tax Rules for Children and Dependents. This publication and Forms 8615 and 8814 are available at IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
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IRS Presents:Seven Things You Should Know About Checking the Status of Your Refund
Are you expecting a tax refund from the Internal Revenue Service this year? If so, here are seven things you should know about checking the status of your refund once you have filed your federal tax return.
1. Online Access to Refund Information Where’s My Refund? or ¿Dónde está mi reembolso? are interactive tools on IRS.gov and the fastest, easiest way to get information about your federal income tax refund. Whether you split your refund among several accounts, opted for direct deposit into one account, used part of your refund to buy U.S. savings bonds or asked the IRS to mail you a check, Where’s My Refund? and ¿Dónde está mi reembolso? give you online access to your refund information nearly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s quick, easy and secure.
2. When to Check Refund Status If you e-file, you can get refund information 72 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of your return. If you file a paper return, refund information will generally be available three to four weeks after mailing your return.
3. What You Need to Check Refund Status When checking the status of your refund, have your federal tax return handy. To get your personalized refund information you must enter:
- Your Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
- Your filing status which will be Single, Married Filing Joint Return, Married Filing Separate Return, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er)
- Exact whole dollar refund amount shown on your tax return
4. What the Online Tool Will Tell You Once you enter your personal information, you could get several responses, including:
- Acknowledgement that your return was received and is in processing.
- The mailing date or direct deposit date of your refund.
- Notice that the IRS could not deliver your refund due to an incorrect address. In this instance, you may be able to change or correct your address online using Where’s My Refund?.
5. Customized Information Where’s My Refund? also includes links to customized information based on your specific situation. The links guide you through the steps to resolve any issues affecting your refund. For example, if you do not get the refund within 28 days from the original IRS mailing date shown on Where’s My Refund?, you may be able to start a refund trace.
6. Visually Impaired Taxpayers Where’s My Refund? is also accessible to visually impaired taxpayers who use the Job Access with Speech screen reader used with a Braille display and is compatible with different JAWS modes.
7. Toll-free Number If you do not have internet access, you can check the status of your refund in English or Spanish by calling the IRS Refund Hotline at 800-829-1954 or the IRS TeleTax System at 800-829-4477. When calling, you must provide your or your spouse’s Social Security number, filing status and the exact whole dollar refund amount shown on your return.
Refund checks are normally sent out weekly on Fridays. If you check the status of your refund and are not given the date it will be issued, please wait until the next week before checking back.
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