Filing Your Taxes in the U.S.

• 1). Determine your filing status. The five filing options you have are: single, married filing jointly, married filing separate, qualifying widower or head of household. Single taxpayers are unmarried individuals who don't qualify for head of household or qualifying widower. In order to file a joint return, you must be legally married, and not legally separated under a separation or divorce agreement, as of the last day of the tax year in question.
  
  Married filing separately is an option for couples who don't want to be responsible for their spouse's tax liability. Tax rates for married filing separately are higher than the tax rates for married taxpayers who file a joint return.
  
  Filing head of household requires that you've paid more than half the cost of maintaining your home. In addition, you must be considered unmarried for tax purposes, and provide over half the support for a dependent child or parent for six months or more.
  
  In order to file as a qualifying widow, the taxpayer's spouse must have died within two years leading up to the current tax year. You may also file as a qualifying widow if you paid more than half the cost to maintain a home for your dependent stepson, son, stepdaughter or daughter.
  
  
• 2). Record your income information. Income comes from employment or financial gain. In most cases, you'll use information from your W-2 to complete the income section of your tax return. Every employee receives a W-2 form from his employer, usually no later than January 31.
  
  Report wages, commissions, salaries and taxes withheld. Other types of income include interest income, foreign investments, unemployment compensation and alimony, to name a few.
  
  
• 3). Record your dependent information. Dependents are considered qualifying relatives or children where the dependent is a U.S. citizen or resident of Canada or Mexico. In addition, the dependent isn't filing a joint return with her spouse.
  
  Any taxpayer who can be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer can't claim dependents.
  
  
• 4). Record all deductions and credits that apply to your situation. Deductions help reduce taxable income, while credits reduce tax after taxable income is computed. Furthermore, some credits are refundable, while other credits are nonrefundable. If the credit is nonrefundable, it can't reduce the taxpayer's liability below zero. Refundable credits reduce tax liability below zero. Two popular credits are the earned income credit and child tax credit.
  
  In some cases, you may choose to itemize your deductions. You may itemize expenses such as mortgage interest paid and real estate taxes paid. Itemizing your deductions may lead to a lower tax liability than you receive from the standard deduction. According to irs.gov, the standard deduction in 2009 is $11,400 for married filing jointly, $5,700 for single taxpayers and $8,350 for head of household.
  
  
• 5). Choose your filing options. Once you've completed your taxes, be sure to sign and date the applicable areas. Be sure that your name and address is correct. You can e-file your taxes, for a slightly higher fee, or mail your taxes.
  
  If you e-file, within 48 hours you'll receive a confirmation via email from the IRS indicating that your tax return has been accepted. If you expect a tax refund, you may receive your funds within eight to 15 days if you file electronically. If you request a paper check, it may take an additional one to two weeks to receive your funds.
  
  If you prefer to mail your taxes, it may take anywhere from six to eight weeks to receive a refund.