You must file an individual income tax return if your income for the year is above a certain level. The amount varies depending on your filing status, your age and the type of income you receive.

You should consult your professional tax advisor to determine if you are required to file a tax return.  Otherwise, you can check the Individuals section of IRS.gov, or consult the instructions for Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ for specific details that may affect your need to file a tax return with the IRS this year.

Even if you don’t have to file, e.g., because your income is below the minimum filing threshold, here are eight reasons why the IRS advises you still may want to file a return:

1. Federal Income Tax Withheld. Even if you are not required to file, you should file to get money back if Federal Income Tax was withheld from your pay, if you made estimated tax payments, or if you had a prior year overpayment applied to this year’s tax.
2. Making Work Pay Credit. You may be able to take this credit if you have earned income from work. The IRS advises that the maximum credit for a married couple filing a joint return is $800 and $400 for other taxpayers.
3. Government Retiree Credit. You may be eligible for this credit if you received a government pension or annuity payment in 2009. However, the amount of this credit reduces any making work pay credit you receive.
4. Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). You may qualify for the EITC if you worked, but did not earn a lot of money. The EITC is a refundable tax credit; which means you could qualify for a tax refund.
5. Additional Child Tax Credit. This credit may be available to you if you have at least one qualifying child and you did not get the full amount of the Child Tax Credit.
6. Refundable American Opportunity Credit. This education tax credit is available for 2009 and 2010. The IRS advises that the maximum credit per student is $2,500 and the first four years of post-secondary education qualify.
7. First-Time Homebuyer Credit. The IRS advises that the credit is a maximum of $8,000 or $4,000 if your filing status is married filing separately. The credit applies to homes bought anytime in 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, the IRS reminds you that you have until on or before June 30, 2010, if you entered into a written binding contract before May 1, 2010. The IRS further reminds you that if you bought a home after November 6, 2009, you may be able to qualify and claim the credit even if you already owned a home. In this case, the IRS advises that the maximum credit for long-time residents is $6,500, or $3,250 if your filing status is married filing separately.
8. Health Coverage Tax Credit. Certain individuals, who are receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance, Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance, or pension benefit payments from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, may be eligible for a Health Coverage Tax Credit worth 80 percent of monthly health insurance premiums when you file your 2009 tax return.

For more information about your filing requirements and your eligibility to receive tax credits, consult your professional tax preparer or tax advisor, or visit the official IRS website at IRS.gov.

On January 25, 2010, the IRS announced a new tax law provision that allows people who donate to charities providing earthquake relief in Haiti to claim these donations on their 2009 income tax returns (i.e., the returns they are completing this season).

Taxpayers who itemize deductions on their 2009 income tax return qualify for this special tax relief provision, enacted January 22, 2010. Only cash contributions made to these charities after January 11, 2010, and before March 1, 2010, are eligible. This includes contributions made by text message, check, credit card or debit card.

The new law only applies to cash (as opposed to property) contributions. The contributions must be made specifically for the relief of victims in areas affected by the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti. Taxpayers have the option of deducting these contributions on either their 2009 or 2010 income tax returns, but not both.  To get a tax benefit, taxpayers must itemize their deductions on Schedule A. Those who claim the standard deduction, including all short-form filers, are not eligible.  See IRS Publication 501 for more information, or consult your professional tax advisor or tax preparer.

Taxpayers should be sure that their contributions go to qualified charities. Most organizations which are eligible to receive tax-deductible donations are listed in a searchable online database available on www.IRS.gov under Search for Charities. Some organizations, such as churches or governments, may be qualified even though they are not listed on IRS.gov. Donors can find out more about organizations helping Haitian earthquake victims from agencies such as USAID.

The IRS announcement reminds donors that contributions to foreign organizations generally are not deductible. IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, provides additional information on making contributions to charities. Also consult your professional tax advisor or tax preparer for additional information.

Federal law requires that taxpayers keep a record of any deductible donations they make. For donations made by text message, the IRS advises that a telephone bill will meet the record-keeping requirement if it shows the name of the donee organization, the date of the contribution and the amount of the contribution. For cash contributions made by other means, be sure to keep a bank record, such as a cancelled check, or a receipt from the charity showing the name of the charity and the date and amount of the contribution. IRS Publication 526 has further details on the record-keeping rules for cash contributions.  Otherwise, consult your professional tax advisor or tax preparer for more information.

This year’s special Haiti relief provision is modeled on a 2005 law that, in the wake of the December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami, allowed taxpayers to deduct donations they made during January 2005 as if they made the donations in 2004.

As taxpayers prepare to file their individual income tax returns for 2009, the IRS wants to alert many lower income earning families about the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).  As advised by the IRS, an expanded EITC means larger families will qualify for a larger credit, offering greater relief for people who struggled through difficult financial times during 2009.

The EITC, which is in its thirty-fifth year, is one of the federal government’s largest benefit programs for working families and individuals. According to the IRS, in 2009, nearly 24 million people received $50 Billion in benefits. The average credit was more than $2,000.

Eligibility for the EITC depends on earned income and family size, among other tests. However, single people and childless workers also are eligible, although for smaller amounts. For tax years 2009 and 2010, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created a new category for families with three or more children and expanded the maximum benefit for this category.

To qualify for the EITC, earned income and adjusted gross income (AGI) for individuals must each be less than:

• $43,279 ($48,279 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children
• $40,295 ($45,295 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children
• $35,463 ($40,463 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child
• $13,440 ($18,440 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children

The maximum credit for tax year 2009 is:

• $5,657 with three or more qualifying children
• $5,028 with two qualifying children
• $3,043 with one qualifying child
• $457 with no qualifying children

The maximum amount of investment income is $3,100 for tax year 2009. For families, there are also certain requirements for child residency and relationship that must be met. For additional eligibility information, consult your professional tax advisor or tax preparer.  Information also is available in FS-2010-12 and on the Web at IRS.gov/EITC.