Adjustments to Income

Time Requirement: 30 minutes

Purpose

The adjustments subtracted from total income on Form 1040 establish the adjusted gross income (AGI). Students will learn how to calculate and report the adjustments to income that are in scope for VITA/TCE.

Objectives

• Identify which adjustments are in scope for VITA/TCE
• Calculate and accurately report the adjustments to income that are in scope for VITA/TCE

Teaching the Lesson

Refer to the Lesson Plan for helpful instructor notes, visual aids, TaxSlayer® demo, and Internet links.

Refer students who may want to work independently to Publication 4491, Adjustments to Income.

Key References

This lesson will refer to the following publications and forms:

• Form 13614-C, Page 2, Part IV and Part V
• Pub Adjustments tab
• Pub 17, Part Four, Adjustments to Income

All references to materials can be found by clicking the Job Aids and Media button. There are also links to helpful tools that can be found on the irs.gov public portal. For this lesson, the student can link to the following sites for additional help:

• Tax Topic - Alimony Paid
• Tax Topic – Educator Expenses
• Student Loan Interest
• Tax Map - Self-Employment Tax

TaxSlayer® Demos and Tutorials

It is recommended to go to the Practice Lab and access the latest TaxSlayer tutorial for this lesson. The TaxSlayer tutorials can be found by going to the Practice Lab and clicking on the link for TaxSlayer IRS training.

Publication 4012 , Adjustments tab, will include instructions and tips on how to report adjustments to income in TaxSlayer.