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Here's a brief summary of some of the more applicable tax information for tax filing year 2011.

There are currently six income tax brackets: 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35%. For 2011 and 2012, these brackets apply to married couples filing joint federal income tax returns in the following manner.

2011 Income Tax Brackets--Married Filing Jointly

Taxable Income	Marginal Tax Rate
Not over $17,000	10%
Over $17,000 to $69,000	15%
Over $69,000 to $139,500	25%
Over $139,500 to $212,300	28%
Over $212,300 to $379,150	33%
Over $379,150	35%

2012 Income Tax Brackets--Married Filing Jointly

Taxable Income	Marginal Tax Rate
Not over $17,400	10%
Over $17,400 to $70,700	15%
Over $70,701 to $142,700	25%
Over $142,701 to $217,450	28%
Over $217,451 to $388,350	33%
Over $388,351	35%

For 2011, the standard deduction amounts increase from 2010 amounts for each type of filer:
Married Filing Jointly - $11,600 (from $11,400)
Head of Household - $8,500 (from $8,400)
Single and Married Filing Separately - $5,800 (from $5,700)
Personal Exemption Amount - $3,700

For 2012, the standard deduction amounts increase from 2011 amounts for each type of filer:
Married Filing Jointly - $11,900
Head of Household - $8,700
Single and Married Filing Separately - $5,950
Personal Exemption Amount - $3,800

For 2011 and 2012, if you sell shares of stock that you've held for more than a year, any gain is a long-term capital gain, and will generally be taxed at a maximum rate of 15%. If you're in the 10% or 15% marginal income tax bracket, however, you'll pay no federal tax on the long-term gain (a 0% tax rate applies).

The estate tax reappears in 2011, however, with a $1 million exclusion amount (meaning that up to $1 million of assets will be exempt from estate tax) and a top tax rate of 55%. To put this into a clearer context, see the table below. In 2009, the top estate tax rate was 45%, and estates received an exclusion of $3.5 million.

Year	2010	2011	2012
Estate tax exclusion	N/A	$5 Million	$5 Million
Top estate tax rate	No tax	35%	35%

The Taxpayer Protection Act of 2011 repeals the requirement that anyone receiving rental income must file form 1099-Misc for his or her vendors. Only those taxpayers considered "in the trade or business" of rental real estate are required to file form 1099-Misc for their vendors. Invoices and/or other proof of payment are all that a rental property owner who is not otherwise "in the trade or business" needs in order to validate rental property associated expenses.

• The Making Work Pay tax credit disappears for 2011.
• The Adoption Credit increases from $13,170 in 2010 to $13, 360 in 2011.
• The $250 deduction for education expenses incurred by teachers remains.
• The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit is reduced to $500 maximum and this is reduced by any credit amounts taken in 2009 and/or 2010.
• A $1000 Retention Credit is available to employers who hired employees under the Hire Act and retained them for 52 consecutive weeks.
• Section 179 small business expensing - The increased IRC Section 179 expense limit ends. Section 179 allows small businesses to elect to expense the cost of qualifying property rather than recover the cost through depreciation deductions. The amount that a small business may expense will drop from $250,000 in 2010 to $25,000 in 2011.