A deduction is an expenditure that will
reduce your taxable income. There are two kinds of deductions: adjustments to
income and itemized deductions. The adjustments to income are the better of the
two, as they reduce adjusted gross income, or “AGI.” Itemized deductions reduce
your taxable income.
First, we will look at some adjustments to income.
Educator expenses apply to K – 12th
grade educators, and are limited to $250 of documented supplies per qualified
taxpayer. Expenses exceeding $250 can be taken as a miscellaneous itemized
deduction.
A health savings
account is
an account set up exclusively for paying the qualified medical expenses of the
account beneficiary or the beneficiary’s spouse or dependents.
Moving expenses include qualified
out-of-pocket expenses or an employer reimbursement that was included in your W-2
form. If you received a non-taxable reimbursement, you cannot deduct the
expenses.
Self-employment tax. If you are a
sole-proprietor, active partner or have miscellaneous income subject to self-employment
tax, you can deduct half of the self-employment tax.
Self-employed pension
plans. You
can deduct all qualified contributions to self-employed SEP, SIMPLE, and
qualified plans.
Self-employed health
insurance deduction. For
this deduction you must be a sole proprietor or an active partner with net
business income or a more than 2% shareholder of an S-corporation. The
deduction is limited to net profit. Qualified long-term care insurance
premiums, subject to age limitations, are also deductible.
Penalty on early withdrawal
of savings is
deductible and you will find this fee on your form 1099-INT. These penalties
are typically incurred when you cash in a CD prematurely.
Alimony paid is deductible,
but you must include the Social Security number of the recipient.
IRA deduction. Report only deductible
traditional IRA contributions. Roth IRA contributions are not deductible.
Student loan interest.
Up
to $2,500 of the interest paid on a qualified student loan is deductible. There
are income limitations. You will receive Form 1098-E from the entity to which
you paid the student loan interest.
Tuition and fees deduction.
Up
to $4,000 of higher education tuition and fees can be deducted by taxpayers
with an AGI under $80,000 if single, or $160,000 if married filing jointly.
For more information, contact Elite Bookkeeping & Tax Services at (800) 416-3820 or (775) 884-6188 Address: 123 West Nye Lane, Suite 103, Carson City, NV 89706. Visit our website at www.elitebookkeeping.biz
