An Important Message About Your Taxes

You could get more money back this year if you were affected by the economy or a natural disaster. We’ll make it easy for you to get every dollar you’re owed. And we’ll help protect you from an audit along the way.

Getting You a Bigger RefundWe’ll automatically see if you qualify for deductions and credits, whether you lost a job,

lost a home, sold investments at a loss, or were hit by a natural disaster.

Covering New Tax Laws Congress has passed new laws to help people in the struggling economy. We’ll check everything for

you, including any tax rebates or debt relief.

Protecting You from an Audit Even if your tax return has changed a lot this year, we’ll help reduce your level of audit risk and support you in the unlikely event of an audit. Tell Me More

This is for the NEW USER screen only. RETURNING USER screen to be addressed in R030.

After speaking with a number of people on this, both those who

created this and those who haven’t seen it before, I’ve

decided to leave this screen as is. That doesn’t mean we won’t

change it. It just means we won’t change it for R02.

After speaking with a number of people on this, both those who

created this and those who haven’t seen it before, I’ve

decided to leave this screen as is. That doesn’t mean we won’t

change it. It just means we won’t change it for R02.

Your home sale – We’ll see if you can get up to $250,000 tax free on any profit you made on the sale of your home. If you had to sell your home at a loss, we'll see if you qualify for a tax break on any debt forgiven by your lender.

Your home foreclosure – While losing a home is hard, we’ll make it easy for you to get a tax break on any debt forgiven by your lender.

Your stock/mutual fund sales – Whether you sold your stocks for a profit or a loss, we’ll get you the maximum tax break. In certain cases, profits from stock sales may even be tax-free.

ADD: And if you sold it at a loss we’ll still help you get the maximum tax benefit.

Lost a job – You may have earned less than you planned last year, so we’ll make sure you get the maximum refund. And we’ll help you see if you can deduct any job-seeking expenses.

ADD - If you had to sell your home at a loss, we'll see if you qualify for a tax break on any debt forgiven by your lender.

IF THEY LIVED IN THEIR HOME LESS THAN 2 YEARS & NO SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF SALE (HEALTH, JOB, ETC).

UPDATED

IF THEY SAID THEY DIDN’T RECIVE UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

Lost a job – You may have earned less than you planned last year, so we’ll help you get the maximum refund on your tax return. And we’ll see if you can deduct any moving or job-seeking expenses.

IF THEY ARE A NEW USER WHO SAID THEY OWNED THEIR OWN HOME

Your home – We make it easy to take advantage of all the tax breaks that owning a home provides, including deducting your property tax. Even if you were unable to deduct property taxes before, we can help you take advantage of new tax laws that may provide deductions of up to $1,000.

We’ll help get up to $3,500 in deductions for each dependent you claim.

[NEW PARAGRAPH] Supporting children and other family members can be expensive. We’ll help you get some of that money back by taking up to a $3,500 deduction for each dependent you claim.

…recommend you use <FILING STATUS> in order to get the maximum refund.

Otherwise, let’s work on any other 1099Gs you may have received. If you lost a job, we’ll work on your unemployment pay now.We’ll help you deduct any job-seeking expenses when we get to the Deductions & Credits section.

CUT THIS

Tax StimulusREPLACE SENTENCE “If John or Spouse…your 2008 return.”

WITH

“If you received this payment and your tax situation changed, we’ll see if you qualify for additional money this year. If you didn’t receive a rebate, we’ll see if you can get one this year.”

CHANGE TO, “If <name> or <spouse name> received a rebate, TurboTax needs to account for the rebate(s) on your 2008 return. <Explain this> [HYPER from above.]

REMOVE

This includes money you made from another job, interest, or investment income.

If you sold your home at a loss, we’ll also check for tax breaks on any debt forgiven by your lender when we get to the Deductions & Credits section.

Examples: - Interest and dividends (1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-OID) - Wages reported on a W-2 - Unemployment benefits, state tax refunds (1099-G) - Forgiveness of debt, home foreclosure, or loss of property (1099-C, 1099-A) - Social Security, pension, or veterans’ benefits (SSA-1099, 1099-R) - Income from contract work or rental property (1099-MISC) - See more examples

Do you have other income to enter?

( • ) Yes( ) No

<Back> <Continue>

Any Other Income?

Other Income

Get Organized ✓

If you made money on the sale of your house, we can help you find out if this profit is tax-free, up to $250,000 per person. If you had to sell your home at a loss, we’ll check if you qualify for a tax break on any debt forgiven by your lender.

Here’s what you need to get started: - The date you sold your home and the selling price (from your closing statement) - The date you bought your home and the purchase price (from your closing statement) - The cost of any major improvements you made, so we can deduct them for you - Form 1099-C if you sold your home at a loss (short sale)

Sold a Home

Sold a Home UPDATED

Sale of Home

You told us earlier that you sold your home. If you made any money, up to $250,000 of that profit may be tax-free, or up to $500,000 if you’re married. If you sold your home at a loss, we’ll check to see if you qualify for tax breaks on any debt forgiven by your lender.

Did you sell your main home in 2008? (we’ll cover the sale of a vacation home later)

( • ) Yes( ) No

<Back> <Continue>

Your Home Sale

Your Home Sale

Sale of Investments

You told us earlier that you sold stocks or mutual funds. Whether you sold your stocks at a profit or a loss, we’ll get you the largest tax break. This includes deducting up to $3,000 from your taxable income.

This includes:- Sale of stocks, bonds or mutual funds- Sale of collectibles such as art, coins, stamps or antiques- Sale of land, a second home, or other investment real estate- Sale of personal items- See More Examples

Did you sell any of these investments in 2008?

( • ) Yes( ) No

<Back> <Continue>

Investment Sales

mike

We’ll help you take every possible job-related deduction, whether you had out-of-pocket work expenses, or spent money looking for a new job.

This includes:

- Your home office- Union dues and professional subscriptions- Uniforms and related maintenance costs- Travel, vehicles and entertainment- Job-seeking costs like travel (up to 58.5¢ per mile), resumes, career website registration fees, etc.- Continuing education

Did you have any of these expenses in 2008?

( • ) Yes( ) No

<Back> <Continue>

Unreimbursed Work and Job-Seeking Expenses

Work Expenses UPDATED

We’ll see if you can take advantage of the new tax laws to deduct up to $1,000 or more on your property taxes this year, even if you were unable to deduct property taxes before.

Did you pay property taxes in 2008?

( • ) Yes( ) No

<Back> <Continue>

Property Taxes

Property Taxes

Income Landing

Income Landing Table - UPDATED

Cancelled Debt (1099-C, 1099-A), 1099-SA, Gambling winnings, etc.

Job-Related/Seeking Expenses

D&C Estimate Screen

Spouse Passed Away

Spouse Passed AwayPlease enter the date your spouse passed away (mm/dd/yyyy).

Tell Us About Your Debt Forgiveness

Debt Forgiveness

EIC 1

Earned Income Credit

Do you want to work on this credit?

( • ) Yes (Recommended)( ) No

Guidance for YouSince your earned income is less than $33,995, we may be able to save you money by taking the Earned Income Credit.

The Earned Income Credit (EIC) could save you as much as $4,716. The credit can reduce the amount of tax you owe, or even give you a refund.

mike

EIC 2

Earned Income Credit

Do you want to work on this credit?

( • ) Yes (Recommended)( ) No

Guidance for YouSince your earned income is less than $33,995, we may be able to to save you money by taking the Earned Income Credit.

The Earned Income Credit (EIC) could save you as much as $4,716. The credit can reduce the amount of tax you owe, or even give you a refund.

Sale of Home Landing

Sale of Home (gain or loss)