Miscellaneous Credits

Time Requirement: 15 minutes

Purpose

This is the last of the lessons that cover the Tax and Credits section of the return. It discusses how to apply the nonrefundable credits for:

• Retirement savings contributions
• Elderly or the disabled

Objectives

• Determine if a taxpayer qualifies for the retirement savings contributions credit and accurately complete Form 8880, Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions
• Calculate the credit for the elderly or the disabled by completing Form 1040, Schedule R, Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled

Teaching the Lesson

Refer to the Lesson Plan for helpful instructor notes, visual aids, TaxSlayer® demos, and Internet links. Prompt students to share what they know about the miscellaneous credits.

Refer students who may want to work independently to Publication 4491, Miscellaneous Credits.

Key References

This lesson refers to the following publications and forms:

• Form 13614-C
• Form 8880
• Pub 4012, Nonrefundable Credits tab and Credits tab
• Pub 17, Chapter 36, Other Credits, Nonrefundable Credits section

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 Trails - Do I Qualify for the Credit for the Elderly or Disabled?
• Tax Topics - Retirement Savings Contributions Credit
• Retirement Savings Contributions Credit

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 the link for TaxSlayer IRS training.

Publication 4012, Nonrefundable Credits tab, includes how to enter certain nonrefundable credits in TaxSlayer.