All citizens or residents of the United States and residents of Puerto Rico that are wage earners are required to file a federal tax return if they exceed income limits set by law.

The IRS defines an exemption as the amount you can claim to help reduce your taxable income. Basically, there are two types of exemptions: personal and dependent.

A tax credit differs from a deduction because it comes right off of the bottom line. A deduction lowers your gross income, which means you can calculate your taxes on a lower amount.

There are important tax changes you should be aware of for the 2006 tax year. Several deduction amounts have increased. The standard deduction starts at $5,350 for a married person filing separately, and ranges up to $10,700 for married couples filing jointly.

For most taxpayers, April 15, 2008, is the due date for filing a 2007 tax return. However, there are some exceptions. If you're living and working outside the United States or Puerto Rico on April 15, you have an automatic two-month extension until June 17th.

You can either mail your tax return or file it electronically. There are IRS Service Centers located all over the country. You should generally file your taxes with the one that's closest to your legal residence, which you can find by checking the chart that's included in your tax forms package.