Your Tax Return, With Some Change

Tax time is near, and you know what that means, right?

It means changes -- and lots of them. Why must we poor taxpayers have to put up with this constant tinkering of the code?

Oh, well, as Richard Hooker, a British theologian, said: "Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better."

That about sums up the many tax code changes that will affect your 2006 return. For instance, educators can still deduct up to $250 per year for unreimbursed expenses for classroom supplies they buy. That deduction was scheduled to end in 2005.

The problem is that some of the changes will not be reflected in the tax forms the Internal Revenue Service sent out. That's because Congress, known for moving at a glacial pace, passed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 too late to make the IRS publication deadline.

The tax forms and first round of instructions, in fact, were printed well before the president signed the bill into law in December, says David Bergstein, a certified public accountant and analyst for CCH Complete Tax ( http://www.completetax.com), an online tax program for the do-it-yourself filer.

So this is your notice from me. Whether you plan on doing your own taxes or having them prepared by a professional, you need to read up on these changes. You can do that by going to the IRS Web site ( http://www.irs.gov). Once there, click on the link for "individuals," and you will see a number of announcements you should read before starting in on your tax return.

"If you don't know what you don't know, you don't know what to ask," Bergstein said.

This tax year may be particularly problematic for people who prepare their own returns, says Cindy Hockenberry, a tax information analyst for the National Association of Tax Professionals.

"People will look at the form that was mailed to them and not realize that some deductions have been extended," Hockenberry said. If you plan to buy a tax-preparation program, you need to go to the software company's Web site and download all updates, she said.

If you're doing your own taxes, be aware that the IRS has announced it will not be able to process returns -- paper or electronic -- claiming one or more of the affected breaks until Feb. 3.

Even Mark W. Everson, the IRS commissioner, warned Congress that this would be a confusing year. In a letter to Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), now chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Everson wrote in December that all the late changes would challenge the agency and "add significant risk to an already high risk filing season."