Instructions For Form 1040ez - Income Tax Return For Single And Joint Filers With No Dependents - 2011 Page 6
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43a joint return. Use TeleTax topic 501 in Section 6, later. But if
You claim only the earned income credit. Use TeleTax
someone can claim you (or your spouse if married) as a depen-
topics 601-602, 607-608, and 610-612 in Section 6,
dent, your standard deduction is the amount on line E of the
later.
Worksheet for Line 5 on the back of Form 1040EZ.
You (and your spouse if filing a joint return) were
under age 65 and not blind at the end of 2011. If you
were born on January 1, 1947, you are considered to
What Filing Status Can You Use?
be age 65 at the end of 2011 and cannot use Form
Single.
Use this filing status if any of the following was true
1040EZ.
on December 31, 2011.
Your taxable income (line 6 of Form 1040EZ) is less
•
You never were married.
than $100,000.
•
You were legally separated, according to your state law,
You had only wages, salaries, tips, taxable scholarship
under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance.
or fellowship grants, unemployment compensation, or
•
You were widowed before January 1, 2011, and did not
Alaska Permanent Fund dividends, and your taxable
remarry in 2011.
interest was not over $1,500.
Married filing jointly.
Use this filing status if any of the
If you earned tips, they are included in boxes 5 and 7
following apply.
of your Form W-2.
•
You were married at the end of 2011, even if you did not
You do not owe any household employment taxes on
live with your spouse at the end of 2011.
wages you paid to a household employee. To find out
•
Your spouse died in 2011 and you did not remarry in
who owes these taxes, use TeleTax topic 756 in
2011.
Section 6, later.
•
You were married at the end of 2011, and your spouse
You are not a debtor in a chapter 11 bankruptcy case
died in 2012 before filing a 2011 return.
filed after October 16, 2005.
For federal tax purposes, a marriage means only a legal union
If you do not meet all of the requirements, you must use Form
between a man and a woman as husband and wife, and the
1040A or 1040. Use TeleTax topic 352 in Section 6, later to
word “spouse” means a person of the opposite sex who is a
find out which form to use.
husband or a wife. A husband and wife filing jointly report
their combined income and deduct their combined allowable
Nonresident aliens.
If you were a nonresident alien at any
expenses on one return. A husband and wife can file a joint
time in 2011, your filing status must be married filing jointly to
return even if only one had income or if they did not live
use Form 1040EZ. If your filing status is not married filing
together all year. However, both persons must sign the return.
jointly, you may have to use Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ.
Once you file a joint return, you cannot choose to file separate
Specific rules apply to determine if you were a nonresident or
returns for that year after the due date of the return.
resident alien. See Pub. 519 for details, including the rules for
students and scholars who are aliens.
Joint and several tax liability.
If you file a joint return, both
you and your spouse are generally responsible for the tax and
interest or penalties due on the return. This means that if one
Should You Use Another Form?
spouse does not pay the tax due, the other may have to. Or, if
one spouse does not report the correct tax, both spouses may
Even if you can use Form 1040EZ, it may benefit you to use
be responsible for any additional taxes assessed by the IRS.
Form 1040A or 1040 instead. For example, you can claim the
You may want to file separately if:
head of household filing status (which usually results in a
•
You believe your spouse is not reporting all of his or her
lower tax than single) only on Form 1040A or 1040. You can
income, or
claim the retirement savings contributions credit (saver’s
•
credit) only on Form 1040A or 1040. Use TeleTax topic 610 in
You do not want to be responsible for any taxes due if
Section 6, later.
your spouse does not have enough tax withheld or does
not pay enough estimated tax.
Itemized deductions.
You can itemize deductions only on
Form 1040. You would benefit by itemizing if your itemized
If you want to file separately, you must use Form 1040 or
deductions total more than your standard deduction: $5,800
1040A. You cannot use Form 1040EZ. See Innocent Spouse
for most single people; $11,600 for most married people filing
Relief in Section 5, later.
Instructions for Form 1040EZ
- 6 -
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