| Pub. 554, Older Americans' Tax Guide |
2004 Tax Year |
Introductory Material
This is archived information that pertains only to the 2004 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
What's New
Standard deduction. For most people, the standard deduction has increased. See Standard Deduction, later.
Earned income credit. The maximum amount of income you can earn and still get the credit has increased. You may be able to take the credit if you
earn less than:
-
$30,338 ($31,338 if married filing jointly) and have one qualifying child living with you,
-
$34,458 ($35,458 if married filing jointly) and have more than one qualifying child living with you, or
-
$11,490 ($12,490 if married filing jointly), do not have a qualifying child, and are at least 25 years old and under 65.
For more information, see Earned Income Credit, later.
Reminders
Tax return preparers. Choose your preparer carefully. If you pay someone to prepare your return, the preparer is required, under the law, to sign
the return and fill in
the other blanks in the Paid Preparer's area of your return. Remember, however, that you are still responsible for the accuracy
of every item entered
on your return. If there is any underpayment, you are responsible for paying it, plus any interest and penalty that may be
due.
Third party designee. You can check the “Yes” box in the Third Party Designee area of your return to authorize the IRS to discuss your return with a friend, family
member, or any other person you choose. This allows the IRS to call the person you identified as your designee to answer any
questions that may arise
during the processing of your return. It also allows your designee to perform certain actions. See your income tax package
for details.
Employment tax withholding. Your wages are subject to withholding for income tax, social security tax, and Medicare tax even if you are receiving social
security benefits.
Voluntary withholding. You may be able to have federal income tax withheld from your social security and equivalent railroad retirement benefits.
See Tax Withholding
and Estimated Tax under Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits, later.
Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of
missing children
selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children
home by looking at the
photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.
Introduction
The purpose of this publication is to provide a general overview of selected topics that are of interest to older Americans.
The publication will
help you determine if you need to file a return and, if so, what items to report on your return. Each topic is discussed only
briefly, so you will
find references to other free IRS publications that provide more detail on these topics if you need it.
Table I has a list of questions you may have about filing your federal tax return. To the right of each question is the location
of the answer in
this publication. Also, at the back of this publication there is an index to help you search for the topic you need.
While most federal income tax laws apply equally to all taxpayers, regardless of age, there are some provisions that give
special treatment to
older Americans. The following are some examples.
-
Higher gross income threshold for filing. You must be age 65 or older at the end of the year to get this benefit. You are
considered 65 on the day before your 65th birthday. Therefore, you are considered 65 at the end of the year if your 65th birthday
is on or before
January 1 of the following year.
-
Higher standard deduction. If you do not itemize deductions, you are entitled to a higher standard deduction if you are age 65 or
older at the end of the year. You are considered 65 at the end of the year if your 65th birthday is on or before January 1
of the following
year.
-
Credit for the elderly or the disabled. If you qualify, you may benefit from the credit for the elderly or the disabled. To
determine if you qualify and how to figure this credit, see Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled, later.
Return preparation assistance.
The IRS wants to make it easier for you to file your federal tax return. You may find it helpful to order large print
tax forms or visit a
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE), or American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
site near you.
Large print tax forms.
For easier reading and to practice preparing your return, you may order large print tax forms. Use them as worksheets
to figure your tax, but do
not file them. Call 1-800-829-3676 and order:
-
Publication 1614
, which contains Form 1040, Schedules A, B, D, E, EIC, and R, and Forms 1040-V and 8812, and their instructions,
or
-
Publication 1615
, which contains Form 1040A, Schedules 1, 2, 3, and EIC, and form 8812, and their instructions.
When you file your actual return, do not send the large print tax forms to IRS. Use the standard forms.
To order other free publications and forms, see chapter 7 in this publication.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly.
These programs provide free help for low-income taxpayers and taxpayers age 60 or older to fill in and file their
returns. For the VITA/TCE site
nearest you, contact your local IRS office.
For the location of an AARP Tax-Aide site in your community, call 1-888-227-7669. When asked, be ready to press in
or speak your 5-digit zip code.
Or, you can visit their website on the Internet at
www.aarp.org/taxaide.
Comments and suggestions.
We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions.
You can write to us at the following address:
Internal Revenue Service
Individual Forms and Publications Branch
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:I
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6406
Washington, DC 20224
We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number,
including the area code, in
your correspondence.
You can email us at
*[email protected]. (The asterisk must be included in the
address.) Please put “ Publications Comment” on the subject line. Although we cannot respond individually to each email, we do appreciate your
feedback and will consider your comments as we revise our tax products.
Tax questions.
If you have a tax question, visit
www.irs.gov or call 1-800-829-1040. We cannot answer tax questions at either
of the addresses listed above.
Ordering forms and publications.
Visit
www.irs.gov/formspubs
to download forms and publications, call 1-800-829-3676, or write to one of the three addresses shown under How To Get Tax Help in the back
of this publication.
Table I. What You Should Know About Federal Taxes (Note. The following is a list of questions you may have about filling out your federal income tax return. To the right of each
question is the location of the answer in this publication.)
| What I Should Know |
Where To Find the Answer |
|
Do I need to file a return?
|
See chapter 1.
|
Is my income taxable or nontaxable?
If it is nontaxable, must I still report it?
|
See chapter 2.
|
How do I report benefits I received from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board?
Are these benefits taxable?
|
See Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits in chapter 2.
|
Must I report the sale of my home?
If I had a gain, is any part of it taxable?
|
See Sale of Home in chapter 2.
|
|
What are some of the items that I can deduct to reduce my income?
|
See chapters 3 and 4.
|
|
How do I report the amounts I set aside for my IRA?
|
See Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) Contributions and Deductions in chapter 3.
|
|
Would it be better for me to claim the standard deduction or itemize my deductions?
|
See chapter 4.
|
|
What are some of the credits I can claim to reduce my tax?
|
See chapter 5 for discussions on the credit for the elderly or the disabled, the child and dependent care credit, and the
earned
income credit.
|
|
Must I make estimated tax payments?
|
See chapter 6.
|
|
How do I contact the IRS or get more information?
|
See chapter 7.
|
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