How to Get Your AGI for Your Taxes
AGI stands for "adjusted gross income," and you could require it for a couple of reasons at tax time. To electronically file your current tax return, you either need to enter your previous year's AGI or apply for a PIN. The AGI is usually simpler because it is very easy to get. You might also need to determine your current AGI in order to figure out what tax credits and deductions the Internal Revenue Service allows you in the current year.
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Instructions
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Last Year's AGI
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Refer to your last tax return. If you filed a 1040, your AGI is located at lines 37 and 38. If you filed a 1040EZ, it's on line 4; and if you filed Form 1040A, you can find your AGI at lines 21 and 22.
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Call the IRS if you can't locate your previous year's return. If the agent can confirm that you are who you say you are, he will give you the number.
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Mail your tax return if you can't locate your old return or if the IRS can't give you your AGI on the telephone. You can also apply for a PIN instead. Make a note of your current AGI from this return so that you have it next year.
Current Year's AGI
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Add together all your sources of income. This includes everything reported on a W-2 given to you by your employer, as well as any 1099 income you received if you did independent work for someone without actually being on his payroll. Include unemployment or alimony if you received any payments of this sort during the tax year. Add interest payments you might have received from investments or from interest-bearing bank accounts. These institutions should also have given you 1099-MISC forms showing how much you earned. Do not include child support payments you might have received. These are taxable to the person paying the support, not to you.
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Total all deductions you've used when preparing your tax return. For example, the IRS allows you to deduct any alimony that you paid to an ex-spouse and contributions you might have made to retirement plans. If you're self-employed, you can deduct 50 percent of your self-employment tax as well as the cost of health insurance premiums you might have paid for yourself over the course of the tax year.
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Subtract the total of your deductions from your total income. The resulting number is your AGI.
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Tips & Warnings
Figuring out what deductions you might qualify for can be complicated. The IRS offers many, but only under certain circumstances. Even if you don't hire a tax professional to prepare your tax return, consult with one before tax season to ascertain exactly what you might be eligible for.
References
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