If you were born before January 2, 1948, or were blind at the end of 2012, check the appropriate boxes on line 23a. If you were married and checked the box on Form 1040A, line 6b, and your spouse was born before January 2, 1948, or was blind at the end of 2012, also check the appropriate boxes for your spouse. Be sure to enter the total number of boxes checked. Do not check any box(es) for your spouse if your filing status is head of household.

If you were not totally blind as of December 31, 2012, you must get a statement certified by your eye doctor (ophthalmologist or optometrist) that:

• You cannot see better than 20/200 in your better eye with glasses or contact lenses, or
• Your field of vision is 20 degrees or less.

If your eye condition is not likely to improve beyond the conditions listed above, you can get a statement certified by your eye doctor (ophthalmologist or optometrist) to this effect instead.

You must keep the statement for your records.

If your filing status is married filing separately (box 3 is checked) and your spouse itemizes deductions on Form 1040, check the box on line 23b. You cannot take the standard deduction even if you were born before January 2, 1948, or were blind. Enter -0- on line 24 and go to line 25.

Most people can find their standard deduction by looking at the amounts listed under All others to the left of line 24.

If you, or your spouse if filing jointly, can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2012 return, use the Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents to figure your standard deduction.

If you checked any box on line 23a, use the Standard Deduction Chart for People Who Were Born Before January 2, 1948, or Were Blind to figure your standard deduction.

If you checked the box on line 23b, your standard deduction is zero, even if your were born before January 2, 1948, or were blind.

Do you want the IRS to figure your tax for you?

Yes. See chapter 29 of Pub. 17 for details, including who is eligible and what to do. If you have paid too much, we will send you a refund. If you did not pay enough, we will send you a bill.

No. Use the Tax Table to figure your tax unless you are required to use Form 8615 (see Form 8615, later) or the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet in these instructions. Also include in the total on line 28 any of the following taxes.

You may owe this tax if (a) you claimed an education credit in an earlier year, and (b) either tax-free educational assistance or a refund of qualified expenses was received in 2012 for the student. See the Instructions for Form 8863 for more details. If you owe this tax, enter the amount and ECR to the left of the entry space for line 28.

If both 1 and 2 next apply to you, use the Alternative Minimum Tax Worksheet in these instructions to see if you owe this tax and, if you do, the amount to include on line 28.

1. The amount on Form 1040A, line 26, is: $26,600 or more if single or married filing jointly; $30,400 if a qualifying widow(er); or $15,200 or more if head of household or married filing separately.
2. The amount on Form 1040A, line 22, is more than: $50,600 if single or head of household; $78,750 if married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er); $39,375 if married filing separately.

Form 8615 generally must be used to figure the tax for any child who had more than $1,900 of investment income, such as taxable interest, ordinary dividends, or capital gain distributions, and who either:

1. Was under age 18 at the end of 2012,
2. Was age 18 at the end of 2012 and did not have earned income that was more than half of the child's support, or
3. Was a full-time student over age 18 and under age 24 at the end of 2012 and did not have earned income that was more than half of the child's support.

But if the child files a joint return for 2012 or if neither of the child's parents was alive at the end of 2012, do not use Form 8615 to figure the child's tax.

A child born on January 1, 1995, is considered to be age 18 at the end of 2012; a child born on January 1, 1994, is considered to be age 19 at the end of 2012; a child born on January 1, 1989, is considered to be age 24 at the end of 2012.

If you received qualified dividends or capital gain distributions, use the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet to figure your tax.

You may be able to take this credit if you paid someone to care for any of the following persons.

1. Your qualifying child under age 13 whom you claim as your dependent.
2. Your disabled spouse or any other disabled person who could not care for himself or herself.
3. Your child whom you could not claim as a dependent because of the rules for Children of divorced or separated parents in the instructions for line 6c.

For details, use TeleTax topic 602 or see Form 2441.

You may be able to take this credit if by the end of 2012 (a) you were age 65 or older, or (b) you retired on permanent and total disability and you had taxable disability income. But you cannot take the credit if:

1. The amount on Form 1040A, line 22, is $17,500 or more ($20,000 or more if married filing jointly and only one spouse is eligible for the credit; $25,000 or more if married filing jointly and both spouses are eligible; $12,500 or more if married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse all year), or
2. You received one or more of the following benefits totaling $5,000 or more ($7,500 or more if married filing jointly and both spouses are eligible for the credit; $3,750 or more if married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse all year).
   1. Nontaxable part of social security benefits.
   2. Nontaxable part of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits treated as social security.
   3. Nontaxable veterans' pensions (excluding military disability pensions).
   4. Any other nontaxable pensions, annuities, or disability income excluded from income under any provision of law other than the Internal Revenue Code.

For this purpose, do not include amounts treated as a return of your cost of a pension or annuity. Also, do not include a disability annuity payable under section 808 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 or any pension, annuity, or similar allowance for personal injuries or sickness resulting from active service in the armed forces of any country, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the Public Health Service.

You must include Schedule R with your return to claim this credit.

See Schedule R and its instructions for details.

If you can take this credit and you want us to figure it for you, see the Instructions for Schedule R.

If you (or your dependent) paid qualified expenses in 2012 for yourself, your spouse, or your dependent to enroll in or attend an eligible educational institution, you may be able to take an education credit. See Form 8863 for details. However, you cannot take an education credit if any of the following applies.

• You, or your spouse if filing jointly, are claimed as a dependent on someone else's (such as your parent's) 2012 tax return.
• Your filing status is married filing separately.
• The amount on Form 1040A, line 22, is $90,000 or more ($180,000 or more if married filing jointly).
• You are taking a deduction for tuition and fees on Form 1040A, line 19, for the same student.
• You, or your spouse, were a nonresident alien for any part of 2012 unless your filing status is married filing jointly.

You must include Form 8863 with your return to claim this credit.

See Form 8863 and its instructions for details.

You may be able to take this credit if you, or your spouse if filing jointly, made (a) contributions, other than rollover contributions, to a traditional or Roth IRA; (b) elective deferrals to a 401(k) or 403(b) plan (including designated Roth contributions), or to a governmental 457, SEP, or SIMPLE plan; (c) voluntary employee contributions to a qualified retirement plan (including the federal Thrift Savings Plan); or (d) contributions to a 501(c)(18)(D) plan.

However, you cannot take the credit if either of the following applies.

1. The amount on Form 1040A, line 22, is more than $28,750 ($43,125 if head of household; $57,500 if married filing jointly).
2. The person(s) who made the qualified contribution or elective deferral (a) was born after January 1, 1995, (b) is claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2012 tax return, or (c) was a student (defined next).

You were a student if during any part of 5 calendar months of 2012 you:

• Were enrolled as a full-time student at a school, or
• Took a full-time, on-farm training course given by a school or a state, county, or local government agency.

A school includes a technical, trade, or mechanical school. It does not include an on-the-job training course, correspondence school, or school offering courses only through the Internet.

You must include Form 8880 with your return to claim this credit.

For more details, use TeleTax topic 610 or see Form 8880.

Add the amounts shown as federal income tax withheld on your Forms W-2 and 1099-R. Enter the total on line 36. The amount withheld should be shown in box 2 of Form W-2, and in box 4 of Form 1099-R. Attach Form(s) 1099-R to the front of your return if federal income tax was withheld.

If you received a 2012 Form 1099 showing federal income tax withheld on dividends, taxable or tax-exempt interest income, unemployment compensation, or social security benefits, include the amount withheld in the total on line 36. This should be shown in box 4 of Form 1099, or box 6 of Form SSA-1099. If federal income tax was withheld from your Alaska Permanent Fund dividends, include the tax withheld in the total on line 36.

Enter any estimated federal income tax payments you made for 2012. Include any overpayment that you applied to your 2012 estimated tax from:

• Your 2011 return, or
• An amended return (Form 1040X).

If you and your spouse paid joint estimated tax but are now filing separate income tax returns, you can divide the amount paid in any way you choose as long as you both agree. If you cannot agree, you must divide the payments in proportion to each spouse's individual tax as shown on your separate returns for 2012. For an example of how to do this, see Pub. 505. You may want to attach an explanation of how you and your spouse divided the payments. Be sure to show both social security numbers (SSNs) in the space provided on the separate returns. If you or your spouse paid separate estimated tax but you are now filing a joint return, add the amounts you each paid. Follow these instructions even if your spouse died in 2012 or in 2013 before filing a 2012 return.

If you got divorced in 2012 and you made joint estimated tax payments with your former spouse, enter your former spouse's SSN in the space provided on the front of Form 1040A. If you were divorced and remarried in 2012, enter your present spouse's SSN in the space provided on the front of Form 1040A. Also, in the blank space to the left of line 37, enter your former spouse's SSN, followed by DIV.

If you changed your name because of marriage, divorce, etc., and you made estimated tax payments using your former name, attach a statement to the front of Form 1040A. On the statement, explain all the payments you and your spouse made in 2012 and the name(s) and SSN(s) under which you made them.