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Show Income Tax Fax By Peter James Wikel Public Accountant How many exemptions can I claim? Each exemption is a $600 deduction. de-duction. That is, for each exemption exemp-tion you are allowed to make $600 tax free. Exemptions determine the amount of tax-free income you are allowed each year, and are devised de-vised to make the tax fair between be-tween single persons, married couples, cou-ples, and large and small families. Your are entitled to one exemption ex-emption for yourself. You are entitled en-titled to one additional exemption if, on Dec. 31, 1954, you had attained at-tained 65 years of age, or if you were blind. If you were both 65 and blind, you are entitled to two additional addition-al exemptions. You are also entitled en-titled to exemptions on the same basis for your wife, if you file a joint return. If you file a separate return, you can claim your wife's exemptions exem-ptions only if she has no income and was not claimed on any other oth-er taxpayer's return for 1954. If your wife or husband dies in 1954, the additional exemptions exemp-tions for age and blindness are determined as at the date of death, rather than Dec. 31st. Uncle Sam will accept your statement that you are 65 years old, but like any other statement you make on your tax return, be prepared to submit proof if necessary. ne-cessary. If you are claiming the additional addi-tional exemption for blindess and are partially blind; attach a statement state-ment to your tax return from a physician or registered optometrist optome-trist that (1) central visual acuity does not exceed 2020 in the better bet-ter eye with correcting lenses; or (2) that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle an-gle no greater than 20 degrees. Your are entitled to one exemption ex-emption for each dependent. Additional Ad-ditional exemptions for aid age and blindess apply only to yciu and your wife, not to your dependents. de-pendents. If your dependent worked part time and earned less than $600 in 1954 and had income tax withheld with-held from his earnings, the dependent de-pendent should file a tax return and secure the refund of the tax withheld. This will in no way prevent you from also claiming the exemption ex-emption for the dependent. If the dependent is your child under 19 years of age, or over 19 years of age and a full-time student and had earnings of Over $600, the dependent is required to file a tax return. As long as you have furnished over one-half 1 the cost of support of such a child, his filing this separate return re-turn and claiming his own dependency depen-dency deduction will not prevent you from also claiming this dependency de-pendency deduction on your return. |