Hurricane Katrina tax relief. The Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 provides tax relief for individuals affected by the hurricane. For details, see Publication 4492.

Exemption for dependent. Beginning in 2005, you will use new rules to determine whether you can claim an exemption for a dependent. You can claim an exemption for a “qualifying child” or a “qualifying relative.” See Exemptions.

Exemption amount. You are allowed a $3,200 deduction for each exemption to which you are entitled.

Earned income credit. The maximum amount of income you can earn and still claim the earned income credit has increased. You may be able to take the credit if you earned less than $35,263 ($37,263 for married filing jointly) if you have two or more qualifying children; $31,030 ($33,030 for married filing jointly) if you have one qualifying child; and, $11,750 ($13,750 for married filing jointly) if you do not have any qualifying children. See Earned Income Credit.

Standard mileage rate. The standard mileage rate for the cost of operating your car increased to 40.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven before September 1, 2005 (48.5 cents a mile for miles driven after August 31, 2005). The standard mileage rate for operating your car before September 1, 2005, to get medical care or to move increased to 15 cents a mile (22 cents a mile after August 31, 2005).

Third party designee. You can check the Yes box in the Third Party Designee area of your return to authorize the IRS to discuss your return with a friend, family member, or any other person you choose. This allows the IRS to call the person you identified as your designee to answer any questions that may arise during the processing of your tax return. It also allows your designee to perform certain actions. See your income tax package for details.

Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.

This publication covers the special tax situations of active members of the U.S. Armed Forces. It does not cover military pensions or veterans' benefits or give the basic tax rules that apply to all taxpayers. For information on military pensions or veterans' benefits, see Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income. If you need the basic tax rules or information on another subject not covered here, you can check our other free publications. See Publication 910, IRS Guide to Free Tax Services, for a list and descriptions of the different tax publications.

For federal tax purposes, the U.S. Armed Forces includes commissioned officers, warrant officers, and enlisted personnel in all regular and reserve units under control of the Secretaries of the Defense, Army, Navy, and Air Force. The U.S. Armed Forces also includes the Coast Guard. It does not include members of the U.S. Merchant Marine or the American Red Cross.

Members serving in an area designated or treated as a combat zone are granted special tax benefits. In the event an area ceases to be a combat zone (by Presidential Executive Order or by statute), the IRS will do its best to notify you. Many of the relief provisions will end at that time.

Members serving in a qualified hazardous duty area designated by statute are afforded the same benefits as members serving in a combat zone designated by Executive Order.