What's New for the 2011 IL-1040

Household Employee Withholding
If you withheld Illinois Income Tax from a household employee, you may use Form IL-1040, Individual Income Tax Return, to report and pay the tax withheld. See the instructions for Line 22 and Publication 121, Illinois Income Tax Withholding for Household Employees, for details.

Note: Household employers who filed annually in past years on Form UI-WIT, Combined Return for Household Employees, should use Form IL-1040 to report Illinois Income Tax withheld.

IL-1040 Due Date
The due date for filing your 2011 Form IL-1040 and paying any tax you owe is extended to April 17, 2012. We are following the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in extending the due date because of the Emancipation Day holiday being observed on April 16th in the District of Columbia.

Form IL-2210
We redesigned Form IL-2210, Computation of Penalties for Individuals, to change the way your payments are applied. Please follow the instructions closely when completing this form.

Same-Sex Civil Unions
Beginning with the 2011 tax year, if you are in a same-sex civil union you must file your Illinois return as if you had filed your federal return as married (jointly or separately), and you must file your Illinois return on paper, rather than electronically. Click here for more information.

Form 1099-G
Next year (in January 2013), we will no longer mail 1099-G forms to report your prior year individual income tax overpayment unless you specifically request a paper form. Instead, your refund information will be available on our website in January 2013. If you want us to mail you a paper Form 1099-G, you must check the appropriate box in Step 13 of your IL-1040.

Third Party Designee
You may choose to authorize another person to discuss your Form IL-1040 with us. See the Step 13 instructions for details.

Use Tax
If you owe $600 ($1,200 for a joint return) or less in Illinois Use Tax for 2011, you may use Form IL-1040 to report and pay your use tax rather than filing Form ST-44, Illinois Use Tax Return. See the Line 23 instructions for details.

Note: If you owe more than $600 in use tax, you must file Form ST-44.

Forms
The department will not be mailing out preprinted booklets this year. Please file electronically or download the forms and schedules from our website. The 2011 Individual Income Tax Forms and Schedules will be available on our website near the end of December.