MOST COMMON TAX QUESTIONS

FILING A tax return is difficult enough; dealing with a major question regarding your tax situation only makes it harder.

According to search engine analytics data, there are five questions about taxes that individuals are constantly asking on the Web:

How much money do I have to make to file taxes?

Anyone who earns under a certain income, determined by age, dependency, and filing status, is exempt from having to report those earnings to the IRS.

For an independent, single person under the age of 65, for example, that number is $9,500 (efile.com provides a table that breaks it all down.)

How can I estimate my taxes quickly online?

If you’re not quite ready to file your taxes but want an idea of how much you’ll get back from — or pay to — the IRS, there are tax services that allow you to enter basic information and see an estimated refund or payment total, like efile.com’s 2012 Tax Estimator or Turbotax's Taxcaster.

Where are school expenses listed on Schedule A?

If you’re itemizing deductions this year, you will list them all on a Schedule A, which accompanies your Form 1040.

However, if college costs are included among the expenses you plan to write off, the deductions should be reported directly on your Form 1040 (line 34), rather than the Schedule A. Known as the Tuition and Fees deduction, you will need to fill out a Form 8917 to determine the deductible amount.

Do I have to pay taxes on Social Security disability benefits?

In most cases, yes. According to the Social Security Administration website, you must claim your benefits as income if you are filing a federal return as an individual and your total income is over $25,000.

For joint filers, the combined income must total more than $32,000.

Do I have to list last year's state tax refund as income this year?

Normally, you don’t have to claim a previous tax refund as income, because your refund is money owed to you by the IRS.

However, if you itemized your deductions last year (instead of claiming the standard deduction) and included your state or local taxes as a deduction, the refund you earn as a result might actually be considered income.

Excerpted from U.S. News & World Report’s Money page, at money. usnews.com