Hey, Indiana taxpayers. When you find yourself drowning in tax paperwork this filing season, you should know that much of the blame lies with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., not Indianapolis.
Yeah, I know it's easy to point fingers at the feds these days. But really, the Indiana Department of Revenue isn't simply trying to pass the paperwork buck or anything.
State tax officials just want you to know that the reason some of you might have to fill out seven new schedules as part of your 2009 personal income tax form IT-40 filing is because of Congress.
In past years, the state's most widely used tax return had only three possible attachments. While most folks still will only need two or three of them when they file this year, some will indeed have to fill out all seven new schedules.
The added forms are the result of Congress fiddling with federal tax laws. That forced Indiana lawmakers to make changes in state statutes, too.
And that meant more information on the state form; seven new lines of info to be precise.
Indiana tax officials soon decided, however, that the IT-40 was just too crowded. The tax laws that the return accommodates have grown from two exemptions to five exemptions, along with today's 14 add-backs, 26 deductions and 34 credits.
Yes, it was time for the form's first major overhaul in more than 40 years. So instead of jamming more
material into the already overstuffed IT-40, tax officials opted to take the schedule route.
Of course, says the Indiana tax office, if you want to avoid being swamped by forms and save a few trees in the process, you can always use I-File, the state's free online filing system.
Tax trip around the United
States: This post is part of our series highlighting tax
information from the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. You can read other state tax blurbs at our Complete menu of tasty state tax tidbits.
The State Tax Departments page provides links to
official state
and District of Columbia revenue Web sites so that you can find out more
about
your home's tax laws and filing requirements.
As
we work
through the 2010 tax season, a different state will be featured each day
as
noted in Don't forget your state taxes! Check back to see
what tax
tidbit we share about your home.
Related posts:
- State Tax Tidbits
- State Tax Departments
- Don't forget your state taxes!
- 7 new tax laws that could save you money
- New forms this filing season
- 9 states of no-tax note … sort of
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