Highlights for the 2011 Electronic IL-1040

Over half of Illinois individual taxpayers can’t be wrong!
More than 4.3 MILLION chose an electronic method to file their IL-1040. If you, as a tax professional, do not currently offer the electronic filing option to your clients – start today and expand your client database. Electronic filing is the #1 choice for Illinois taxpayers. Call us at 1 866 440-8680, and we will provide you with one on one attention to get you set up and filing your clients’ IL-1040s electronically.

IL-1040 Changes

A new box has been added in Step 1 to designate if a same-sex civil union return is being filed. This type of return is excluded from e-filing for the 2012 processing season and must be filed using the paper IL-1040.
The credit lines for income tax paid to other states, property tax and K-12 education expense, and Schedule 1299-C have moved to page one.
A new line for reporting Household Employment Tax has been added. This allows taxpayers who had a household employee to report and pay their withholding on the IL-1040 instead of on Form UI/WIT.
There is a new Third Party Designee section on the form under Step 13 where the taxpayer may choose to authorize another person to discuss their tax return with us.
A box has been added to Step 13 where a taxpayer may indicate they wish to receive a paper 1099-G used to report their prior year individual income tax overpayment next year. Beginning in 2013, we will no longer mail 1099-G forms unless the taxpayer specifically requests a paper form. This information will be available on our website.

Schedule M, Other Additions and Subtractions for Individuals

Some subtractions that were previously listed on page two have been moved to the first page of the schedule.
Several new lines have been added for tax-exempt obligations of Illinois state and local government.
A new subtraction modification line has been added for Distributions from “Bright Start,” “College Illinois,” and “Bright Directions” college savings plans if the amounts are included in the taxpayer’s AGI.

IL-2210, Computation of Penalties for Individuals
The form has been redesigned to change the way payments are applied. Follow to the instructions closely when completing this form.

Schedule G, Voluntary Charitable Donations
Two new funds have been added:

Illinois State Crime Stoppers Association Fund, and
After-School Rescue Fund

Schedule K-1-P, Partner’s or Shareholder’s Share of Income, Deductions, Credit and Recapture

The Enterprise Zone Dividend subtraction and River Edge Redevelopment Zone Dividend subtraction have been split out and will be reported separately
The Enterprise Zone Investment credit and River Edge Redevelopment Zone Investment credit have been split out and will be reported separately
The Research & Development Tax credit has been removed
A new credit line has been added for the River Edge Historic Preservation Tax credit.

K-1-T, Beneficiary’s Share of Income and Deductions
The Enterprise Zone Dividend subtraction and River Edge Redevelopment Zone Dividend subtraction have been split out and will be reported separately.

1040 Modernized e-File (MeF) Illinois has joined the IRS in the migration towards 1040 Modernized e-File (MeF). We entered our first phase of 1040 MeF in July 2010 for the 2009 IL-1040. We will continue to support our direct and federal/state platforms in their “legacy” layouts until January 2013. In January 2013, Illinois will only support Modernized Electronic Filing in schema layouts. Our MeF schemas are available on our website.