THE REVERE ADVOCATE – Friday, January 3, 2020 Page 17 Savvy Senior IRS Introduces a Tax Form Created for Older Taxpayers Dear Savvy Senior, A couple months back I read that the IRS will be offering a new senior-friendly tax form this tax season that will be easier to use. What can you tell me about this? Paper Filer Dear Filer, It’s true. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has created a new federal income-tax form specifically designed for senior taxpayers, age 65 and older, that should make filing a little easier this year, particularly those who don’t file electronically. Here’s what you should know. Form 1040-SR Created by the 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act, the new two-page simplified federal income tax form is called the 1040-SR. Similar in style to the old 1040-EZ form that the IRS discontinued last year, the new 1040-SR has larger print and better color contrast that makes it easier to read. In addition, it also includes a chart to help older taxpayers calculate their standard deduction, which may help ensure that fewer seniors neglect to take the additional standard deduction that they are entitled to. For 2019, the additional deduction for those 65 or older or the blind is $1,300. The 1040-SR form also has specific lines for retirement income streams such as Social Security benefits, IRA distributions, pensions and annuities, along with earned income from work wages and tips. And, it allows a child tax credit for seniors who are still taking care of a dependent child or grandchild. You can also report capital gains and losses, as well as interest and dividends on this new form. Any of the tax schedules available to those using the standard form 1040 may also be used with the 1040-SR. You should also know that the 1040-SR doesn’t put a limit on interest, dividends, or capital gains, nor does it cap overall income like the old 1040EZ form did. But, if you have to itemize because of state and local taxes or charitable giving, then you will not be able to use the new Form 1040-SR. Paper Filing Advantage Seniors who use tax-preparation software to file their taxes will be able to generate a 1040-SR, but the new form will provide the most significant benefit to taxpayers who still fill out and file their returns on paper. Last year, about 88 percent of the 153 million individual federal tax returns filed to the IRS were filed electronically. About five percent were prepared using tax software, then printed out and mailed to the agency, while about seven percent were prepared on paper. To use the new 1040-SR tax form for the 2019 filing year, taxpayers, including both spouses if filing jointly, must be at least age 65 before Jan. 1, 2020. You also don’t have to be retired to use the form – older workers can use it too. But early retirees (younger than 65) cannot use 1040-SR. To see the 2019 draft version of the new 1040-SR form, go to IRS.gov/pub/irsdft/f1040s—dft.pdf. Tax Preparation Help If you need help filing your tax returns this year, consider contacting the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (or TCE) program. Sponsored by the IRS, TEC provides free tax preparation and counseling to middle and low-income taxpayers, age 60 and older. Call 800-906-9887 or visit IRS.treasury.gov/freetaxprep to locate a service near you. Also check with AARP, a participant in the TCE program that provides free tax preparation at more than 4,800 sites nationwide. To locate an AARP Tax-Aide site call 888227-7669 or visit AARP.org/ findtaxhelp. You don’t have to be an AARP member to use this service. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. WHAT IS MASSTERLIST? More than 15,000 people, from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens, start their morning with a FREE COPY of MASSterList! MASSterList is a daily ensemble of news and commentary about the Legislature, Politics, Media and Judiciary of Massachusetts drawn from major news organizations as well as specialized publications selected by widely acclaimed and highly experienced editor Jay Fitzgerald. Jay introduces each article in his own clever and never-boring inimitable way. MASSterlist will be emailed to you FREE every Monday through Friday morning and will give you a leg up on what’s happening on Beacon Hill, in the blood sport of Bay State politics, in newsrooms across the state and the nation, and in the state’s court system. For more information and to get your free subscription go to: www.massterlist.com/subscribe. SENATORS’ VOTES WITH THEIR PARTY LEADERSHIP– There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports the percentage of times local senators voted with their party’s leadership in 2019. Beacon Hill Roll Call uses 144 votes from the 2019 Senate session as the basis for this report. This includes all roll calls that were not on local issues. The votes of the 2019 membership of 32 Democrats were compared to House Majority Leader Cynthia Creem (D-Newton), second-in-command in the Senate. We could not compare the Democrats’ votes to those of Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) because by tradition, the Senate president rarely votes. Fourteen (or 43 percent) of the 32 Democratic senators voted with Creem 100 percent of the time. The Democratic senators who voted the lowest percentage of times with Creem were Sens. Michael Moore (DMillbury) and Michael Brady (D-Brockton), who both voted with Creem only 88.1 percent of the time. The votes of the 2019 membership of five Republicans were compared with those of GOP Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester). None of the five GOP senators voted with Tarr 100 percent of the time. The Republican senator who voted the lowest percentage of times with Tarr was Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) who voted with Tarr only 90.9 percent of the time. PERCENTAGE OF TIMES SENATORS VOTED WITH THEIR PARTY’S LEADERSHIP IN 2019 The percentage next to the senator’s name represents the percentage of times the senator supported his or her party’s leadership. The number in parentheses represents the number of times the senator opposed his or her party’s leadership. Some senators voted on all 144 roll call votes. Others missed one or more roll call. The percentage for each senator is calculated based on the number of roll calls on which he or she voted and does not count the roll calls for which he or she was absent. Sen. Joseph Boncore 100 percent (0) HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of December 23-27, the House met for a total of 28 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 40 minutes. Mon. December 23 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:07 a.m. Senate 11:08 a.m. to 11:39 a.m. Tues. December 24 No House session No Senate session Wed. December 25 No House session No Senate session Thurs. December 26 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:22 a.m. Senate 11:17 a.m. to 11:26 a.m. Fri. December 27 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Happy New Year! Carpenito Real Estate Would like to wish everyone a Happy, Healthy & Blessed New Year! New Year - New Home! Call us, we’ll help you do what we do best!! 335 Central Street, Saugus, MA 01906 (781) 233-7300 View all our listings at: CarpenitoRealEstate.com
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