1040EZ Tax Section Overview

"I want to talk now about the payments and tax section on form 1040EZ. First, line seven is for federal income tax withheld and you can find this by going to your W-2 statements and looking at box "2". Then you simply add up all of the box "2" amounts on all of the different W-2 statements you may have, and put that total on line "7". Next you have earned income credit, also EIC, on line "8A". The first thing to do, is determine if you're eligible to claim this credit. If your adjusted gross income on line "4" is less than $12,590 for a single person, or less than $14,590 for a married couple, you may be able to claim this. If you and your spouse can be claimed as a dependent by someone else, you're not eligible to take this earned income credit. And you and your spouse also need to be between the ages of 25 and 64 to claim this. If you meet these three qualifications, then we'll talk about how you calculate this credit in a separate section. Next, line "8B" is nontaxable combat pay election. If you've received combat pay, you may want to include this when you calculate your earned income credit, or you may choose to exclude it, depending on the nontaxable status of the combat pay. Once you have this, add lines "7" and "8A" and put this amount on line "9". This amount is your total tax payment. The next section, line "10", we'll need to talk separately because this is a little more involved when you go to the tax tables to find your proper tax."