Low-Income EITC Filing and Evidence Checklist
Test earned income, investment income, filing status, Social Security numbers, qualifying children, residency, age, and prior disallowance before claiming the earned income tax credit.
Read the guide →Life Events and Filing Evidence Center
Turn family, education, disability, caregiving, relocation, loss, and estate events into a defensible filing plan built from evidence, forms, and dated actions.
Guides for specific decisions
Refundable Child and Family Credits: Filing Guide
Coordinate the child tax credit, refundable portion, EITC, dependent care credit, education credits, and adoption credit without assuming the same child qualifies under every rule.
Read the guide →Dependent and Qualifying Child Evidence Checklist
Document relationship, age, student or disability status, residence, support, joint-return facts, citizenship, identification numbers, and competing claims.
Read the guide →Can a Caregiver Claim an Adult as a Dependent?
Review relationship or household membership, gross income, total support, joint-return restrictions, residency or citizenship, multiple-support agreements, and benefit interactions.
Read the guide →Married Filing Jointly vs. Separately: Evidence and Risk Review
Compare joint and separate returns using complete income, community-property facts, credits, deductions, payments, liability exposure, and state consequences.
Read the guide →Head of Household Proof: Home-Cost and Residency Checklist
Prove unmarried or considered-unmarried status, a qualifying person, more-than-half household costs, residence, temporary absences, and special parent rules.
Read the guide →Form 1098-T and Education Credit Evidence Checklist
Reconcile school billing, payments, scholarships, grants, refunds, enrollment, student eligibility, tax-free assistance, and Form 1098-T before claiming a credit.
Read the guide →American Opportunity vs. Lifetime Learning Credit: Evidence Guide
Compare degree status, enrollment, years claimed, felony restrictions, qualified expenses, income limits, dependency, refundability, and tax-free assistance.
Read the guide →Dependent Care Credit and Form 2441 Evidence Checklist
Document qualifying persons, work-related care, provider identity, dates, payments, earned income, custody, employer benefits, and excluded expenses.
Read the guide →Birth of a Child: Tax Filing and Evidence Checklist
Coordinate the child’s Social Security number, residence, dependency, filing status, child credits, dependent care, medical expenses, withholding, and benefit records.
Read the guide →Adoption Tax Credit: Expense, Timing, and Evidence Checklist
Track domestic or foreign status, finalization, eligible child, qualified expenses, reimbursements, employer benefits, special-needs determination, income, and carryforwards.
Read the guide →Disability Tax Benefits and Evidence Guide
Review disability definitions across dependency, EITC, credit for elderly or disabled, medical expenses, ABLE accounts, care credits, and benefit taxability.
Read the guide →Marriage: Name, Status, Withholding, and Filing Checklist
Coordinate year-end marital status, legal names, addresses, filing choice, withholding, community property, dependents, health coverage, and prior obligations.
Read the guide →Divorce and Custody: Tax Evidence Checklist
Map year-end marital status, child nights, support, household costs, Form 8332, alimony dates, property transfers, retirement orders, and estimated payments.
Read the guide →Final Tax Return for a Deceased Person: Evidence Checklist
Separate income through the date of death from later estate income, then organize filing status, deductions, credits, authority, refund claims, prior returns, and signatures.
Read the guide →Probate and Executor Tax Filing Checklist
Organize legal authority, EIN, asset inventory, date-of-death values, creditor claims, income, expenses, distributions, beneficiaries, state filings, and closing records.
Read the guide →Estate Income Tax and Form 1041 Evidence Guide
Determine the estate tax year, income after death, deductions, distributions, distributable net income, beneficiary reporting, estimated taxes, elections, and final-year treatment.
Read the guide →Form 706 Estate Tax and Portability Evidence Checklist
Review gross-estate value, adjusted taxable gifts, filing threshold, portability election, deductions, valuations, ownership, beneficiary designations, and payment timing.
Read the guide →Family Caregiver Tax Records and Credit Guide
Coordinate dependent status, medical expenses, work-related care, household employment, reimbursement, flexible spending accounts, shared support, and state benefits.
Read the guide →Moving Between States: Residency and Filing Evidence Checklist
Document move date, domicile, days, homes, work locations, income sourcing, withholding, estimated payments, credits, remote work, and business ties.
Read the guide →Disaster Tax Relief: Postponed Deadline and Filing Checklist
Verify the official disaster declaration, covered area, taxpayer eligibility, postponed acts, relief period, payments, notices, record reconstruction, and state differences.
Read the guide →Casualty and Disaster Loss: Form 4684 Evidence Checklist
Document the event, property basis, value before and after, insurance claims, reimbursements, declaration status, personal or business use, elections, and later recoveries.
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