IRS helps military personnel.

• Position: National

The IRS is helping taxpayers use a new law providing income exclusions for death benefit payments and certain home sales. Both provisions are retroactive, so some qualifying taxpayers must file amended returns to claim these tax breaks.

The new law doubled the benefit paid to survivors of deceased Armed Forces members to $12,000, made the entire amount tax-free, and made the changes effective for deaths occurring after Sept. 10, 2001.

Previously, only $3,000 was tax-free. Recipients who already paid tax on benefits received for deaths after the effective date may file an amended return on Form 1040X, reducing their adjusted gross income by the $3,000 they had reported as taxable. Those who receive such "gratuity" benefits in 2003 and future years will not have to report them on their tax returns.

Taxpayers may exclude gain on a home sale, provided they have owned and used the home as a principal residence for two of the five years before the sale. A reduced maximum exclusion may apply to those who satisfy part of the two-year rule...