For information about any additional changes to the 2012 tax law affecting Pub. 570, go to www.irs.gov/pub570.

Maximum income subject to social security tax. . For 2012, the maximum amount of self-employment income subject to social security is $110,100.

Optional methods to figure net earnings. . For 2012, the maximum income for using the optional methods is $4,520.

Electronic filing. . You can e-file Form 1040-SS. For general information about electronic filing, visit www.irs.gov/efile.

Individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) for aliens. If you are a nonresident or resident alien and you do not have and are not eligible to get a social security number (SSN), you must apply for an ITIN. For details on how to do so, see Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, and its instructions. Allow 6 weeks for the IRS to notify you of your ITIN (8-10 weeks if submitted during peak processing periods (January 15 through April 30) or if you are filing from overseas).If you already have an ITIN, enter it wherever your SSN is requested on your tax return.

Earned income credit (EIC). Generally, if you are a bona fide resident of a U.S. possession, you cannot claim the EIC on your U.S. tax return. However, certain U.S. possessions may allow bona fide residents to claim the EIC on their possession tax return. To claim the EIC on your U.S. tax return, your home (and your spouse's if filing a joint return) must have been in the United States for more than half the year. If you have a child, the child must have lived with you in the United States for more than half the year. For this purpose, the United States includes only the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Special rules apply to military personnel stationed outside the United States. For more information on this credit, see Publication 596, Earned Income Credit.

Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets. If you have specified foreign financial assets in foreign jurisdictions valued above certain threshold dollar amounts, you may have to file Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, when you file your U.S. income tax return with the IRS. If you are required to file Form 8938, you do not have to report certain specified foreign financial assets on Form 8938. See Bona fide resident of a U.S. possession, in the Instructions for Form 8938 for more details. For additional details, go to the page for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) at www.irs.gov/businesses/corporations/article/0,,id=236667,00.html.

Change of address. If you change your mailing address, use Form 8822, Change of Address, to notify the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. possession tax administration, if appropriate. Mail Form 8822 to the Internal Revenue Service Center or U.S. possession tax administration for your old address (addresses for the Service Centers are on the back of the form).

Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.

This publication discusses how to treat income received from the following U.S. possessions on your tax return(s).

Unless stated otherwise, when the term “possession” is used in this publication, it includes the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Chapter 1 discusses the requirements for being considered a bona fide resident of the listed possessions.

Chapter 2 gives the rules for determining if your income is from sources within, or effectively connected with a trade or business in, those possessions.

Next, chapter 3 looks at the rules for filing tax returns when you receive income from any of these possessions. You may have to file a U.S. tax return only, a possession tax return only, or both returns. This generally depends on whether you are a bona fide resident of the possession. In some cases, you may have to file a U.S. return, but will be able to exclude income earned in a possession from U.S. tax. You can find illustrated examples of some of the additional forms required in chapter 5.

If you are not a bona fide resident of one of the possessions listed earlier, or are otherwise required to file a U.S. income tax return, the information in chapter 4 will tell you how to file your U.S. tax return. This information also applies if you have income from U.S. insular areas other than the five possessions listed earlier because that income will not qualify for any of the exclusions or other benefits discussed in chapter 3. These other U.S. insular areas include:

If you need additional information on your tax obligations in a U.S. possession, write to the tax department of that possession. Their addresses are provided in chapter 3 under the individual headings for each possession.

You can get the necessary possession tax forms at the tax office for the appropriate possession. The office addresses are given in chapter 3.