The two common forms that taxpayers need to do their taxes are a W-2 form that comes from employers and a 1099-INT form that comes from the bank. Other important information you want to have with you everyone’s social security numbers and receipts if you have made charitable contributions throughout the year.

You should file a 2013 federal income tax return even if your total income is below the filing requirement This way you can get a refund on any withheld federal income tax. The average unclaimed tax refund is more than $600. There is a three-year window on claiming past refunds. After that, the money goes to the U.S. Treasury. If you want to claim a refund from two or three years ago, you need to make sure all subsequent year's tax returns have been filed

A tax rate is the percentage at which taxes are paid on a dollar of income.

A tax bracket is a range of income amounts that are taxed at a particular rate. Each filing status has its own tax brackets, but the tax rates are the same for all filing statuses. Most of us pay income taxes across several tax brackets, which is what makes our tax system "progressive".

When someone asks what tax bracket you fall into, they generally want to know your "marginal tax rate". This is the tax bracket that your last dollar of income falls into, and therefore the highest tax rate you pay.

Most people know they can claim a personal exemption for their children, but you might also be able to claim exemptions for elderly parents, significant others or other relatives that qualify as a dependent.

For each dependent you can deduct $3,900 from your federal taxable income.