Internal Revenue Service Tax Deductions
By: Tom Peters | Posted: 06th January 2010
Do you use the standard deduction that the IRS provides, knowing full well you can claim additional deductions? If you are worried about filing for deductions, do not worry about it. With good bookkeeping and filing of all receipts for deductable items, you should have this money in your pocket, rather than the governments.
The standard deduction provided by the IRS is adjusted each year for inflation. This is not a bad deduction to use if you cannot use any of the information that is provided in the following paragraphs. When you do apply for additional deductions you need to attach the information to Schedule A of Form 1040. This form should not be feared or you should not think that the IRS will be drawn to your tax return to provide additional scrutiny. The bottom line is that the tax laws allow for deductions and if you have the evidence that you incurred these expenses then you should claim these as deductions. It is surprisingly how quickly the deductions can add up over the 12 month period.
Medical expenses can be claimed as a tax deduction if you have spent over 7.5 % of your adjusted gross income. If you have a young family or if you have had a lot of illness these past 12 months, it is more than certain that you have spent more than 7.5% on medical expenses. When you consider that these expenses include doctor's fees, hospital fees, drug prescriptions and a number of other expenses the bills will really add up over the 12 month period. The interest you pay on your home mortgage is another deduction if this is your first or second home and you use the home as your main residence. If your home has had damage done to it during the year, like a fire, losing the roof during high winds and other similar major damage you can claim anything above 10% of your gross income. This deduction applies as long as the area in which your home is in has not been declared a disaster area by the US Government.
Donations of money or property to a charitable organisation are another tax deduction. When you donate ensure that you get a receipt from the charitable organisation on the value of your donation. State and local taxes may be deductable for taxes that have been applied to you based on the underlying value of your asset. The asset is usually your property or your vehicle. There are also the standard deductibles you should be looking at such as union dues and tax return preparation expenses.
The most important action you must do when claiming deductions is to keep all of your receipts. Your receipts are proof of expenditure, and even if the IRS wants to query any deduction you have the proof. This at the end of the day is all the IRS needs.
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Tags: us government, bottom line, paragraphs, irs, receipts, money in your pocket, medical expenses, bookkeeping, tax return, scrutiny, inflation, home mortgage, adjusted gross income, tax deduction, high winds, standard deduction