The Internal Revenue Service is, to most people, a large, megalithic evil government agency that exists to take your money away. In reality, all the IRS does is collect the money that is, by law (read, passed into law by Congress and the President), owed to the government. They are not a group of nasty guys, they simply do their job. If you do not try to scam, trick, or fool the IRS by hiding or laundering large amounts of cash, they are actually a very friendly bunch. You can call them on the phone to ask them as many questions as you want about certain tax forms, they will gladly explain what you can and can't do under certain rules. They will even mail back to you forms and circle the empty blanks you forgot to fill in with a highlighter for you. Give them what's theirs, and they will bend over backward to help you do it.