Taxes: A PCL Pathfinder

This guide is designed to provide information and assistance in the income tax preparation process. There are many resources available with extensive information and advice about taxes, both in print and on the Internet. These resources provide a range of information, including tax basics, the latest tax law changes, IRS forms and publications, tips for reducing income tax, and tax planning advice.

This guide introduces researchers to some of the basic informational sources on the topic. The terms and phrases listed in the subject headings below can be used to search for more materials in the library's catalog and research databases.

If you need further assistance, please ask a librarian. Library staff cannot give tax advice! However, we'll do our best to help you find the resources and assistance you need.
Call us at 343-7747 or e-mail us at ref@parchmentlibrary.org.

QUICK JUMP TO:

TAX FORMS

WHERE TO FILE

WHAT FORM TO FILE

TAX HELP

WEB SITES

ONLINE DISCUSSIONS

SUBJECT HEADINGS

RELATED RESEARCH GUIDES

TAX FORMS AT THE LIBRARY

We keep a supply of commonly-used Federal and Michigan tax forms and publications in the front lobby of the library, beginning January 1. These are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Not all forms are available on January 1 -- we put the forms on the display table as soon as they are received from the government printing offices.

We also have tax forms that may be photocopied from a reference binder, or printed from the Internet, at a cost of 15 cents per page.

We do NOT carry the following Federal forms, which must be ordered directly from the IRS or purchased at an office supply store : W-2, 1098, 1099, or 5498.

Go to www.irs.gov to find and print Federal tax forms and publications.

Call 1-800-829-3676 to order forms and publications (including Braille) by phone.

Fax 1-703-368-9694 from your fax machine to get up to 3 items per call. Long distance charges may apply.

Mail your order for tax products to:

Central Area Distribution Center
PO Box 8903
Bloomington, IL 61702-8903

You should receive your products within 10 days after your order is received.

Tax forms are also available at the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Office:

678 Front Ave NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Phone: 616-235-2390
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Basic IRS forms for individuals are available at US Rep Fred Upton's office:

US Congressional 6th District Office
157 S Burdick St. Ste. 180 (Mall Plaza)
Kalamazoo, MI
Phone: 269-385-0039

Go to http://www.michigan.gov/taxes/ to find and print Michigan state tax forms and publications.

To have current year MI-1040 & CR (Income Tax and Homestead Property Tax Credit) and MI-CR7 (Home Heating Credit) forms mailed to you call 800-827-4000 and select option 2.

For all other forms and forms from previous years, call 800-367-6263.

Tax forms are also available at the Michigan Treasury Office in Grand Rapids :

State Office Building
350 Ottawa NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503-2340
Mon-Fri 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Go to MICHIGAN CITY TAX FORMS on www.michigan.gov to find and print tax forms for those cities that levy income tax.

Go to http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/link/forms.html and choose a state from the map to find and print tax forms for other states.

FEDERAL: (filing from Michigan)

Kansas City, MO 64999- (add the 4-digit code from the list below)

-0102 (when filing form 1040 with payment enclosed)
-0002 (when filing form 1040 with no payment)
-0115 (when filing form 1040A with payment enclosed)
-0015 (when filing form 1040A with no payment)
-0114 (when filing form 1040EZ with payment enclosed)
-0014 (when filing form 1040EZ with no payment)

Go to www.irs.gov to find where to file other 1040 forms.

Mail refund, credit, or zero due returns to:

Michigan Department of Treasury
Lansing, MI 48956

Mail returns with tax payments to:

Michigan Department of Treasury
Lansing, MI 48929

FEDERAL

Here are some general guidelines to help you determine which IRS form to use:

• 1040EZ
  • Taxable income below $100,000
  • Single or Married Filing Jointly
  • Under age 65
  • No dependents
  • Interest income of $1,500 or less
    
    
• 1040A
  • Taxable income below $100,000
  • Capital gain distributions, but no other capital gains or losses
  • Only tax credits for child, education, earned income, child and dependent care expenses, adoption, elderly and retirement savings contributions
  • Only deductions for IRA contributions, student loan interest, educator expenses or higher education tuition and fees
  • No itemized deductions
    
    
• 1040
  • Taxable income of $100,000 or more
  • Itemized deductions
  • Self-employment income
  • Income from sale of property

For more information go to the Which form? tip on the IRS website.

FEDERAL:

Go to www.irs.gov for online tax help.

Call 1-800-829-1040 for live telephone assistance for individuals.

Call 1-800-829-4933 for live telephone assistance for businesses.

Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing or who have a speech impairment may call the TDD line at 1-800-829-4059 for live telephone assistance from 7:00 am - 10:00 pm Monday - Friday.

Call 1-877-777-4778 for the Taxpayer Advocate's Helpline.

Call 1-800-829-4477 for Tele Tax Topics.

MICHIGAN:

Go to http://www.michigan.gov/treasury/ for online tax help.

Call 1-800-827-4000 for automated state tax information -- hear pre-recorded information about income tax and tax credit topics, request the status of your refund, request information on estimated payments, or order current tax year forms.

Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing or who have a speech impairment may call the TTY line at 517-636-4999.

Tax assistance referral -- call 211.

211
Dial 2-1-1 (In Kalamazoo, Calhoun and Kent Counties) to reach shelters, health resources, parenting, crisis intervention hotlines, financial assistance, volunteering, educational programs, and more. When you don't know who to call, call 211!

Free tax help from AARP is available at the Parchment City Hall, January 29 through April 8, 2008, on Tuesdays from 9-11 am, and from 1-2 pm by appointment,

or call AARP's Tax Aid Locator line at 1-888-687-2277 to find an AARP Tax Aid site near you.

Help is available to fill out Michigan tax and credit forms at State Rep. Robert Jones' office:

Michigan House 60th District Office
323 N. Burdick Street
Kalamazoo, MI
Phone: 269-382-4676
Call for hours.

ON THE INTERNET:

AARP TAX AIDE
http://www.aarp.org/money/taxaide/
Tax advice and assistance.

eHow's Tax Help page
http://www.ehow.com/information_1028-tax-information.html
A nice collection of frequently asked tax questions with answers.

top

Internal Revenue Service
http://www.irs.gov/
Contains statistics, taxpayer information, forms, publications, and more. Everything that a taxpayer needs to know about filing a tax return can be found here.

Michigan Tax Forms
http://www.michigan.gov/taxes
Find Michigan tax forms and taxpayer information.

Outline of the Michigan Tax System by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan
http://www.crcmich.org/TaxOutline/index.html
"... if you aren't already familiar with it, [the Tax Outline] is the best ready reference explanation of all Michigan taxes. This is an invaluable tool for patrons to use in understanding the different types of taxes in Michigan, who pays, the percentages of revenues and "where does my money go?" queries." --Deborah A. Gallagher,
Michigan Electronic Library

FedWorld Tax Form Search
http://www.fedworld.com/Irs_Forms.cfm?pt=2&vid=1191610426_2X04X280977940&rpt=2&kt=5&kp=2
Locate archived IRS forms and publications.

Microsoft: MoneyCentral—Taxes
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/taxes/home.aspx
The Microsoft Network provides tax information, news, tips, a tax estimator, and tax planning guides.

PayrollTaxes.com
www.payroll-taxes.com
Source of information about payroll taxes. It provides the ability to calculate take-home pay.

Small Business/Self-Employed
www.irs.gov/businesses/small/index.html
Tax preparation for small businesses and the self-employed.

SmartMoney: Tax Guide
www.smartmoney.com/tax/
Articles written in plain language explain various tax concepts and how to reduce tax liability.

Tax and Accounting Sites Directory
www.taxsites.com
Directory containing links to numerous tax and accounting sites, including state-specific taxing authority sites.

Tax Problems Law
http://www.nolo.com/resource.cfm/catID/E60B9A45-4B75-424C-91CDDAC9F6AB3A18/213/287/
The Nolo Press “Self-help law center” provides advice on audits, tax bills, late payments, and dealing with the IRS.

Tax Tips from Bankrate.com
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/news_taxes_home.asp
Provides articles explaining tax topics, including many tips for reducing taxes.

Taxes: Tools and Reference
http://www.hrblock.com/taxes/tax_calculators/index.html
Includes daycare expenses, self-employment, withholding calculator, and more.

misc.taxes.moderated
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.taxes/topics
Discussion of taxes, proposed and existing tax laws, regulations, and procedures.

Federal Government

Local Government

Personal Finance

State Government