Exemption for dependent. Beginning in 2005, you will use new rules to determine whether you can claim an exemption for a dependent. You can claim an
exemption for a
“qualifying child” or a “qualifying relative.” See Exemptions for Dependents.
Head of household filing status. Beginning in 2005, you will use new rules to determine whether someone is your qualifying person so you can claim head of
household filing status.
To be your qualifying person, a child generally must be your “qualifying child.” See Head of Household.
Who must file. Generally, the amount of income you can receive before you must file a return has increased. Table 1 shows the filing requirements
for most
taxpayers.
Exemption amount. The amount you can deduct for each exemption has increased from $3,100 in 2004 to $3,200 in 2005.
Exemption for individual displaced by Hurricane Katrina. You may be able to claim a $500 exemption if you provided housing to a person displaced by Hurricane Katrina. For details,
see Exemption for
Individual Displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Exemption phaseout. You lose all or part of the benefit of your exemptions if your adjusted gross income is above a certain amount. The amount
at which this phaseout
begins depends on your filing status. For 2005, the phaseout begins at $109,475 for married persons filing separately; $145,950
for single
individuals; $182,450 for heads of household; and $218,950 for married persons filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)s. See
Phaseout of
Exemptions, later.
Standard deduction. The standard deduction for most taxpayers who do not itemize deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040 is higher in 2005 than
it was in 2004. The
amount depends on your filing status. The 2005 Standard Deduction Tables are shown near the end of this publication as Tables
7, 8, and 9.
Itemized deductions. Some of your itemized deductions may be limited if your adjusted gross income is more than $145,950 ($72,975 if you are married
filing separately).
See Who Should Itemize, later.
Election to report child's unearned income on parent's return. You may be able to include your child's interest and dividend income on your tax return by using Form 8814, Parents' Election
To Report Child's
Interest and Dividends. If you choose to do this, your child will not have to file a return.
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.
This publication discusses some tax rules that affect every person who may have to file a federal income tax return. It answers
some basic
questions: who must file; who should file; what filing status to use; how many exemptions to claim; and the amount of the
standard deduction.
The first section of this publication explains who must file an income tax return. If you have little or no gross income,
reading this section will
help you decide if you have to file a return.
Table 1. 2005 Filing Requirements Chart for Most Taxpayers
|
IF your filing status is...
|
AND at the end of 2005 you were...
* |
THEN file a return if your gross income was at least...
** |
|
single
|
under 65
|
$8,200
|
|
65 or older
|
$9,450
|
|
head of household
|
under 65
|
$10,500
|
|
65 or older
|
$11,750
|
|
married, filing jointly
*** |
under 65 (both spouses)
|
$16,400
|
|
65 or older (one spouse)
|
$17,400
|
|
65 or older (both spouses)
|
$18,400
|
|
married, filing separately
|
any age
|
$3,200
|
|
qualifying widow(er) with dependent child
|
under 65
|
$13,200
|
|
65 or older
|
$14,200
|
|
* If you were born before January 2, 1941, you are considered to be 65 or older at the end of
2005.
|
** Gross income means all income you received in the form of money, goods, property, and
services that is not exempt from tax, including any income from sources outside the United
States (even if you may exclude part or all of it). Do not include social security benefits unless
you are married filing a separate return and you lived with your spouse at any time during
2005.
|
*** If you didn't live with your spouse at the end of 2005 (or on the date your spouse died) and
your gross income was at least $3,200, you must file a return regardless of your age.
|
The second section is about who should file a return. Reading this section will help you decide if you should file a return,
even if you are not
required to do so.
The third section helps you determine which filing status to use. Filing status is important in determining whether you must
file a return, your
standard deduction, and your tax rate. It also helps determine what credits you may be entitled to.
The fourth section discusses exemptions, which reduce your taxable income.
The fifth section is about exemptions for dependents. It explains the difference between a qualifying child and a qualifying
relative. Other topics
include the social security number requirement for dependents, the rules for multiple support agreements, and the rules for
divorced or separated
parents.
The sixth section gives the rules and dollar amounts for the standard deduction — a benefit for taxpayers who do not itemize
their
deductions. This section also discusses the standard deduction for taxpayers who are blind or age 65 or older, and special
rules for dependents. In
addition, this section should help you decide whether you would be better off taking the standard deduction or itemizing your
deductions.
The last section explains how to get tax help from the IRS.
This publication is for U.S. citizens and resident aliens only. If you are a resident alien for the entire year, you must
follow the same tax rules
that apply to U.S. citizens. The rules to determine if you are a resident or nonresident alien are discussed in chapter 1
of Publication 519, U.S. Tax
Guide for Aliens.
Nonresident aliens.
If you were a nonresident alien at any time during the year, the rules and tax forms that apply to you may be different
from those that apply to
U.S. citizens. See Publication 519.
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 the National Distribution Center at the
address shown under
How To Get Tax Help in the back of this publication.
