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2011 Tax Filing: What To Look For This Year.

2011 was a year for fans of sartorial extremes.

An arresting two billion people watched Kate Middleton enter Westminster Abbey in April sporting a wedding gown worthy of Princess Grace.

A month later, an aptly named congressman from Queens twitted a portrait of sorts to a follower, showcasing once more the stretchability of modern undergarment fabric, among other things.

But before we put a year of such varied distinction behind us, there’s still one more thing that must be done: file 2011 tax.

Yes, tax season is here again. This time around, your tax return is due by April 17.

You could get some money out of it! Every year the IRS is left with hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed refunds. Don’t let the U.S. Treasury keep money that’s yours by law!

But even if you owe tax there are plenty of good reasons to file now. Filing before the deadline means you won’t have to pay any penalties or interest on your tax liability.

Overall, 2011 was a year that saw relatively few changes to the tax code.

• As mentioned, the deadline to file your 2011 taxes is April 17, 2012, as opposed to the normal deadline of April 15. That’s because April 15 is a Sunday and on April 16 the District of Columbia’s celebrates the Emancipation Day holiday.
• Exemption levels for the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) are increased, going up to $48,450 for single filers, $74,450 for married couples filing jointly, and $37,225 for married individuals filing separately. For 2011 only those whose incomes fall above these thresholds need be concerned with the AMT.
• The First-time Homebuyer credit is now only available to members of the uniformed services, the Foreign Service, or the intelligence community who were on a qualified official extended duty for at least 90 days outside the U.S. between December 31, 2008 and May 1, 2010.
• If you converted or rolled over an amount to a Roth IRA in 2010 but did not report the whole taxable sum on your 2010 return, you must do so for half of it on your 2011 return and the second half on your tax return for 2012. The same is true of amounts rolled over from a 401(k) or 403(b) plan to a designated Roth account.
• For Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Archer Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) the additional tax on distributions not used for qualified medical expenses is increased to 20% for distributions made after 2010.
• The Making Work Pay credit and most provisions of the Alternative Motor Vehicle credit no longer apply for 2011.

Surely, the greatest benefit of filing taxes well before the April deadline is to lift the tax burden off your shoulders. File now with Priortax and head into the rest of 2012 free of tax stress!