• Tax credits and exemptions allow eligible tax filers to save money from taxes otherwise due.dollars image by Anton Gvozdikov from Fotolia.com
  
  Title V of Division C: Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008 provides a section in government tax law where Congress has placed specific tax exemptions and law changes for targeted groups or activities. The provisions reflect typical congressional modifications that occur from time to time. The changes of Title V and the Relief Act in general are amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
  
  The Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008 was part of a larger package of three major congressional acts that comprised the $700 billion Relief Act signed by President George W. Bush in 2008.
  
  

Child Credits

• The Child Tax Credit: Section 501 of the Act changes the minimum threshold for being eligible for the Child Tax Credit, pegging the floor a taxpayer must earn in a tax year at $8,500.
  
  

Film and Television

• Sunset Date: Section 502 of Title V was expected to sunset on December 31, 2008, but a later amendment extended it a year to December 31, 2009.
  
  Eligibility: Section 502 also includes an eligibility limit and basically applies to films costing less than $15 million to produce.
  
  Definitions: The section further defines what meets the label of a "qualified" film, narrowing eligibility to those films that use actors, staff, production crews and management operating in the U.S. territories and borders. The definitions also expands to cover intellectual property rights associated with a qualified film and the film's distribution as well.
  
  

Children's Toys

• Arrow Exemption: The Relief Act includes a section providing for exemptions on the production of wooden arrows used in archery by children. Specifically, the arrow must be made of wood as specified, intended for use by children, and cannot be compatible with a normal bow as specified.
  
  

Exxon Valdez Spill Victims

• Income Treatment: For those who received income from settlements or awards associated with the Exxon Valdex oil spill in Alaska litigation, Title V allows such income to be categorized as income from a fishing business under Section 504.
  
  Retirement Account Deposits: For those who have received similar income but the funds were deposits in retirement accounts, Title V specifies a number of treatments depending on the type of retirement account, the amount of income, the date deposited and whether the retirement account is pre-tax (example: a traditional IRA) or post-tax (example: a Roth IRA).
  
  

Penalties for Tax Return Preparers

• Modifications: The Relief Act specifies the penalty to be $1,000 or half of the income earned by a tax preparer associated with a claim that understated tax liability inappropriately and that the tax preparer knew or should have known was wrong. This section also applies such penalties to unreasonable tax reporting and misuse of tax shelters as advised by a tax preparer.
  
  

Remaining Sections

• Minor grammatical change: Section 505 includes grammar changes to sections of tax code that apply to farm equipment being treated as 5-year property for the purposes of taxing and depreciation.
  
  ERISA Changes: Sections 511 and 512 provide for mental health changes amended into the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to provide expansion of ERISA benefits to mental health and addiction conditions.