??? Error on the 1040 Tax Form ????

While doing my deceased mother's federal tax return I noticed what I thought was an error in their usual double speak. It's found in the 1040 Instructions book for the year 2010. It's on page 24. The "Simplified Method Worksheet-Lines 16a and 16b" is the title above the worksheet. On line 9 of this worksheet it says,

"...If your Form 1099-R shows a larger amount, use the amount on this line instead of the amount from Form 1099-R."

Does anyone out there in IRS land, or the land of poor stiffs -that have to read through this mumbo jumbo double speak- know what that means? PLEASE TELL ME. It's 4:00 am and I can't make out what the tax coder means. Can you draw me a picture?

I have spent days on end trying to figure out my mother's taxes. She always used a CPA to do her taxes. When she died her SS check and retirement checks stopped. So there's no money for CPAs now. I don't know if I have to file a tax return for her estate too. In order to file for an extension of time to file I had to nearly complete her tax form. That's nuts. I only have her federal taxes complete. Now I have to do her state taxes and my own taxes. I just hope this process is easier since I've done one of them. I can't go any place or do anything except work on taxes. Oh, I'd just LOVE to do this full time. (sarcasm) Actually, if I did this as a job I wouldn't be sitting her day and night. I could stop working and go do something else. I think I've gained 10 pounds from the time I started this LITTLE project.

Here is a list of the topics I have to read through in order to do the estate taxes. I also had to prepare her 1040 tax form and her state tax form. I'll bet there are twenty more forms and publication I have to read too. What idiots make up this stuff? I hope who ever wrote this tax code gets buried in their own tax code when they die. I hope their wife, daughter, son, father have to go through this. I hope they have to go through this over and over until they go bald from pulling out their hair. I hope the blue bird of paradise flies up their open cavities, tax code in tow. And now for the Pièce de Résistance, (that's French for "the best part") a look at just some of the things I get to read. It would almost be easier to go to jail than do taxes.

Publication 559 - Main Content

Table of Contents

* Personal Representative
o Duties
o Fees Received by Personal Representatives
* Final Income Tax Return for Decedent—Form 1040
o Name, Address, and Signature
o When and Where To File
o Filing Requirements
o Income To Include
o Exemptions and Deductions
o Credits, Other Taxes, and Payments
o Tax Forgiveness for Armed Forces Members, Victims of Terrorism, and Astronauts
o Filing Reminders
* Other Tax Information
o Tax Benefits for Survivors
o Income in Respect of a Decedent
o Deductions in Respect of a Decedent
o Estate Tax Deduction
o Gifts, Insurance, and Inheritances
o Other Items of Income
* Income Tax Return of an Estate— Form 1041
o Filing Requirements
o Income To Include
o Exemption and Deductions
o Credits, Tax, and Payments
o Name, Address, and Signature
o When and Where To File
* Distributions to Beneficiaries From an Estate
o Income That Must Be Distributed Currently
o Other Amounts Distributed
o Discharge of a Legal Obligation
o Character of Distributions
o How and When To Report
o Bequest
o Termination of Estate
* Estate Tax Return—Form 706
* Comprehensive Example
o Final Return for Decedent
o Income Tax Return of an Estate—Form 1041
* How To Get Tax Help
o Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs).