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The situation, which may also delay some refunds, arose because Congress waited until December to finish work on tax legislation for this year.

The IRS said three items will require special attention. They are:

-- The $250 adjustment to income allowed to teachers for unreimbursed out-of-pocket classroom expenses.

It can be claimed only on Form 1040, line 23, which is labeled "Archer MSA Deduction."

Taxpayers claiming the teacher's adjustment should put an "E" on the dotted line to the left of the entry. If the taxpayer wants to claim both the adjustment and Archer deduction, he should enter the sum with a "B" on the dotted line and attach an explanation to the return.

-- The deduction of up to $4,000 for tuition and fees paid to a college or university.

This should be entered on Form 1040, line 35, which is labeled "Domestic production activities deduction."

The letter "T" should be put on the dotted line to the left of the entry. If both the education and production deductions are claimed enter a "B" and attach an explanation.

-- The deduction for state and local general sales taxes, which can be taken instead of that for state income taxes.

It is to be entered on line 5 of Schedule A of Form 1040, labeled "State and local income taxes."

If the sales taxes are being claimed, enter "ST" on the dotted line next to line 5. As Wisconsin has a high state income tax, most state taxpayers do not opt to claim the sales tax deduction instead.

The IRS said its e-file and Free File tax software will be adjusted for the changes.

It also said that it will not be able to process many of the returns that include the teachers, education and sales tax deductions until early February.

Returns for 2006 can be filed starting Monday.

Copyright 2006, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)