How to Complete Federal Taxes
Federal income taxes must be filed each year by April 15th. According to the Tax Policy Center, the personal income tax generates the most revenue for the federal government. In 2008, it accounted for just under half of all federal government revenues. In order to file your taxes, you need to know your total taxable income, filing status, which tax form you should use and the tax deductions you are eligible to claim.
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Instructions
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Gather all of your income and expense documentation for the year, such as W-2 and 1099 forms. If you have receipts to document certain deductible expenses, gather those as well.
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Determine your tax filing status based on your marital status and dependents you may be able to claim. The five filing states for federal taxes are single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household and qualifying widow or widower with a dependent child.
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Determine which tax form you need to use to file your federal taxes. The three most common forms are the form 1040 EZ, form 1040A and form 1040. People choose the form 1040 EZ because of its brevity and simplicity of filing. However, you can only use it if you meet certain requirements including filing as either single or married filing jointly, having less than $100,000 of taxable income and not itemizing your deductions or claiming most other deductions or credits. The form 1040A allows you to claim several additional deductions and credits--assuming you are eligible for them--but you still cannot itemize your deductions or claim certain deductions or credits. The form 1040 allows you to claim all deductions and credits but is significantly longer than the other tax forms.
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Enter your wage information and take the appropriate deductions to find your adjusted gross income. Tax deductions include adjustments to income, which can be taken in addition to the standard deduction, and itemized deductions, which are taken in place of the standard deduction.
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Calculate your tax bill by using the income tax tables provided in the tax form instructions. The higher your taxable income, the higher percentage your tax rate will be.
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Determine whether you owe money or are entitled to a refund by subtracting the amount of money you have had withheld from your paychecks during the year from the amount of tax you owe. If the result is positive, you must enclose a payment with your tax return. For example, if your tax liability equals $4,000 and you only had $3,500 withheld during the year, you need to pay an additional $500. If the result is negative, you are entitled to a refund. For example, if your tax liability equals $4,000 and you had $4,500 withheld during the year, you will get a $500 refund.
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Tips & Warnings
Only itemize your deductions if the value of your itemized deductions exceeds the value of your standard deduction. If you claim any itemized deductions, you are no longer eligible to claim the standard deduction.
