The wheels of government didn’t turn fast enough last year to make the Internal Revenue Service’s printing deadline.

The result: 17 million tax packages – forms, booklets and information needed to file income tax returns this year – were compiled in November, missing out on tax changes approved by Congress a month later.

Bottom line: Tax changes that are very much in effect for this filing season are in no way reflected on forms that an estimated 484,500 Kansans will rely on leading up to the April 17 filing deadline.

“We’re very, very sorry, and we’re doing the best we can, but it would have cost way too much money to reprint all those forms,” said Michael Devine, an IRS spokesman for Kansas. “This year the tax packages cost $6.3 million for printing, and $5.5 million for postage.

“We would have had to do that twice.”

Electronic-filing systems and off-the-shelf software programs all reflect the tax changes, as programmers have had time to get the changes in place, Devine said. The IRS also has updated its forms, publications and instructions and made them available for downloading or printing from the IRS Web site, www.irs.gov.

But for those still relying on printed forms mailed to a home or office, there are plenty of changes to keep in mind, forms to fill out and special markings to include.

All to make sure you get the right amount of money refunded, pay the correct total to the government or otherwise keep from being audited for cause.

With that in mind, here are some instructions from the IRS reflecting the tax changes and how to handle them:

Filing deadline

It’s April 17, 2007. The usual deadline, April 15, is a Sunday, and April 16 is Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia, a legal holiday under a new city law.

Although it’s not a federal holiday, the IRS has extended the tax filing deadline to April 17 because a federal statute says District of Columbia holidays have a nationwide impact.

Sales tax deduction

Taxpayers who itemize deductions can choose to claim the state and local sales taxes they paid in 2006, instead of any state and local income taxes they paid.

This option is available to taxpayers nationwide, though it’s primarily designed to benefit residents of states without state and local income taxes. Either amount can be shown on Schedule A, Line 5, labeled “State and local income taxes.”

If you choose to claim the sales tax deduction, enter “ST” on the dotted line to the left of Line 5.

The IRS will issue Publication 600, containing instructions for figuring the deduction and the sales tax tables for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Tuition and fees

The deduction for up to $4,000 of tuition and fees paid to a post-secondary institution is claimed on Form 1040, Line 35, which is the line labeled “Domestic production activities deduction.” Do not use Form 1040A.

If claiming the tuition and fees deduction, enter “T” on the dotted line to the left of that line entry. If claiming both the domestic production activities deduction and the tuition and fees deduction, enter “B” on the dotted line and attach a breakdown of the amounts claimed for each deduction.

Educator expenses

The deduction for up to $250 of out-of-pocket classroom expenses paid by an educator is claimed on Form 1040, Line 23, labeled “Archer MSA deduction.” Again, do not use Form 1040A.

If claiming educator expenses, enter “E” on the line to the left of that line entry. Enter “B” if claiming both the Archer MSA and educator expense deduction, and attach a breakdown.