Please Note: Income threshold to use The Benefit Bank has increased to $56,000 Adjusted Gross Income.

The following highlights some of the updates or changes made to the TBB 2008 Federal Tax module:

• The IRS eliminated Form 8453-OL, so taxpayers can now only sign their electronically submitted return using the Self-Select PIN method or the Practitioner PIN method (if in a VITA certified site). Individuals will need their prior year AGI or PIN. They can obtain this information by calling 1-800-TAX-1040 (1-800-829-1040).

• Individuals who were misclassified as independent contractors instead of employees can now calculate and report their share of the social security and Medicare tax from their wages on Form 8919. The individuals will report the income as wages instead of business income.

• The maximum amount that taxpayers can deduct for contributions to a traditional IRA has been raised to $5,000 if under age 50 AND $6,000 if age 50 or older.

• Standard deduction amounts increased to the following figures:
Single or Married Filing Separately = $5,450
Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widower = $10,900
Head of Household = $8,000
Additional amounts for taxpayers who are blind or age 65 or older increased to $1,050 or $1,350 depending on filing status

• Personal and dependency exemption amounts increased to $3,500 per exemption.

• The maximum amount of Hope Credit that individuals can claim increased to $1,800

• The income thresholds to receive the Earned Income Credit and the amount of credit have increased to the following:
Income Thresholds -
$38,646 ($41,646 married filing jointly) with two or more qualifying children;
$33,995 ($36,995 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child;
The total of all interest, dividend, and capital gain income must be $2,950 or less regardless of whether the taxpayers have a qualifying child or not.

• The tax rate tables have been updated to reflect the changes in the tax brackets.

• Recovery Rebate Credit is a refundable credit only available to those individuals that did not receive the maximum amount ($600 for all filing status except $1,200 for Married Filing Jointly) on their economic stimulus check during calendar year 2008.