Minnesota Revenue

1. Minnesota Revenue Instructor Training Workshop Tax Year 2011 Training Suggestions for Minnesota: Experienced Class Power Point- Don H should post this ppt on his website. This ppt will suffice for training. Manual for resources- use examples for refresher Tax Wise if available- usually not avail til mid January Beginner Class Go through manual page by page Do examples in manual Review questions in manual Review Tax Wise tips in manual Captivate Videos- should be on Don�s website hopefully by mid-December Training Material (Power Point, Manual, Flipchart, M1 and M1PR booklets) Manual, flipchart, and PPT out on MN-1 website to view before training material will be sent out.Training Suggestions for Minnesota: Experienced Class Power Point- Don H should post this ppt on his website. This ppt will suffice for training. Manual for resources- use examples for refresher Tax Wise if available- usually not avail til mid January Beginner Class Go through manual page by page Do examples in manual Review questions in manual Review Tax Wise tips in manual Captivate Videos- should be on Don�s website hopefully by mid-December Training Material (Power Point, Manual, Flipchart, M1 and M1PR booklets) Manual, flipchart, and PPT out on MN-1 website to view before training material will be sent out.

2. Administrative Updates State Training Packets Mailed out middle of December Minnesota Review Questions Page 181 of manual Encourage counselors to complete questions during training Captivate Training Videos Minnesota Intake Sheet Where to Call with Questions Volunteer Hotline 651-556-3050 or 1-800-657-3829 indinctax.prep@state.mn.us Taxpayer Assistance 651-296-3781 or 1-800-652-9094 indinctax@state.mn.us Training Packets (Manuals/Flipcharts/M1 and PR booklets) � Will be sent middle of December. Last year we sent 4 extra training packets will be sent to District Training Coordinators, did this work? Any suggestions/additional needs? If a district without a training coordinator, 4 extra training packets will be sent to the District Coordinator. Should help with last minute additions to training classes (getting materials for them on time). Review Questions- Please do review questions at end of class with volunteers. Not required, but highly recommended. Will be included in training manual that are sent out to volunteers. Will provide copies of answers to instructors at end of presentation. We will go over the quiz and answers today. Captivate Videos- will begin posting (to Don�s website) middle of December. May be useful for training and as Tax Wise refresher for tricky situations. Intake sheet- please encourage volunteers to use. Will be especially helpful for new volunteers and for assisting taxpayers new to your sites. Intake sheet has been updated to better suit the program�s needs. A lot of people had form handy where they were preparing taxes and used as a tool to make sure they were acknowledging potential MN tax issues. Where to Call With Questions- Taxpayers can call the Taxpayer Assistance line, Volunteers use Hotline. Encourage your volunteers to use the hotline. These numbers are also in the manual and flipcharts for volunteers to reference quickly. If you call or email me, I�m not in the office much during the training/filing season so I won�t be able to answer your question as quickly as the volunteer hotline can. If you do need to reach me, email will be best, especially in the month of January. Training Packets (Manuals/Flipcharts/M1 and PR booklets) � Will be sent middle of December. Last year we sent 4 extra training packets will be sent to District Training Coordinators, did this work? Any suggestions/additional needs? If a district without a training coordinator, 4 extra training packets will be sent to the District Coordinator. Should help with last minute additions to training classes (getting materials for them on time). Review Questions- Please do review questions at end of class with volunteers. Not required, but highly recommended. Will be included in training manual that are sent out to volunteers. Will provide copies of answers to instructors at end of presentation. We will go over the quiz and answers today. Captivate Videos- will begin posting (to Don�s website) middle of December. May be useful for training and as Tax Wise refresher for tricky situations. Intake sheet- please encourage volunteers to use. Will be especially helpful for new volunteers and for assisting taxpayers new to your sites. Intake sheet has been updated to better suit the program�s needs. A lot of people had form handy where they were preparing taxes and used as a tool to make sure they were acknowledging potential MN tax issues. Where to Call With Questions- Taxpayers can call the Taxpayer Assistance line, Volunteers use Hotline. Encourage your volunteers to use the hotline. These numbers are also in the manual and flipcharts for volunteers to reference quickly. If you call or email me, I�m not in the office much during the training/filing season so I won�t be able to answer your question as quickly as the volunteer hotline can. If you do need to reach me, email will be best, especially in the month of January.

3. What�s New This Year? Schedule M1MA Marriage Credit will be calculated on this form and must be sent in with Form M1 Changes to Schedule M1M- Additions Phase outs of standard deduction Applies only to MFJ, MFS, and QW who took standard deduction on federal return $1,950 for MFJ and QW $975 for MFS No add back for educator expense or the college tuition and fees expense Marriage credit has not changed, just the way it is reported. Calculation should be a �behind the scenes� thing in Tax Wise. No additional work, form should populate in forms tree. Standard deduction- add back $1,950 for MJF or QW and $975 for MFS No adjustment for Single or HOH These should be automatically calculated in Tax Wise. 2011 software is not out yet though. Marriage credit has not changed, just the way it is reported. Calculation should be a �behind the scenes� thing in Tax Wise. No additional work, form should populate in forms tree. Standard deduction- add back $1,950 for MJF or QW and $975 for MFS No adjustment for Single or HOH These should be automatically calculated in Tax Wise. 2011 software is not out yet though.

4. What�s New This Year Cont. Changes to M1M- Subtractions Items moved from Form M1 to Schedule M1M K12 Education Subtraction Net interest or mutual fund dividends from U.S. Bonds Working Family Credit Conforming to federal changes made effective last year to EIC Taxpayers that qualify for the Federal EIC will qualify for Minnesota WFC WFC table will include an additional $5,000 income bracket for MFJ filers These subtractions are not new, simply in a different place. K12 subtraction- same format in Tax Wise as it was on M1. Still have to enter child�s name and grade, link from Schedule M1M instead. Working Family Credit- Last year TPs may have qualified for the EIC last year but did not qualify for the WFC. These TPs typically had higher income and were MFJ. Now if TP qualifies for EIC, then TP will qualify for WFC. Maximum credit amounts for 2011: No children - $116, One child - $927, Two children �- $1,788 These subtractions are not new, simply in a different place. K12 subtraction- same format in Tax Wise as it was on M1. Still have to enter child�s name and grade, link from Schedule M1M instead. Working Family Credit- Last year TPs may have qualified for the EIC last year but did not qualify for the WFC. These TPs typically had higher income and were MFJ. Now if TP qualifies for EIC, then TP will qualify for WFC. Maximum credit amounts for 2011: No children - $116, One child - $927, Two children �- $1,788

5. Minnesota/Wisconsin Reciprocity There will not be reciprocity between Minnesota and Wisconsin for the 2011 tax year Income tax benchmark study will be conducted with 2011 tax information To help gather necessary information, MN residents working in WI and vice versa will be required to provide income information on their M1.