When do i itemize my taxes

Did you have any out-of-pocket medical expenses? The list of deductible medical expenses is long, but some of the more common ones include: Doctor and dentist fees Chiropractor fees Glasses and contact lenses Lab fees Long-term care expenses Medical supplies Prescription medications You can also deduct the premiums you pay for health, dental, and vision insurance unless you pay for your coverage through your employer using pretax dollars.

Do you live in a federally declared disaster area? To qualify: The federal government must declare the region a disaster area. Do you have any miscellaneous itemized deductions? You may be able to deduct a few miscellaneous expenses, but they're not common.

Still, a few miscellaneous itemized deductions are available, including: Amortizable bond premiums. The amount over face value, or premium, that you pay for certain taxable bonds because they're paying higher-than-current-market interest rates. Premiums on tax-exempt bonds aren't deductible.

Federal estate tax on income in respect of a decedent. This is an important deduction for taxpayers who inherit money in a k or IRA account. Such amounts are considered "income in respect of a decedent" because the decedent had a right to the income at the time of death, but the income wasn't included on the person's final tax return. Instead, the beneficiary is taxed on the amounts. You get a deduction, though, if the decedent's estate was large enough to pay federal estate taxes.

Casualty and theft losses from income-producing property. You can deduct losses if your income-producing property is damaged or stolen. This includes property held for investment, such as gold, silver, vacant lots, or artwork.

Some fines and penalties. You can't deduct fines or penalties imposed due to violations of law. However, fines and penalties paid as restitution, remediation, or to come in compliance with a law may be deductible. Gambling losses. This write-off comes with restrictions. You can't deduct more than the amount of gambling winnings you report as taxable income.

Ponzi scheme losses. If you lose money or investments in a Ponzi scheme, the loss is deductible as a theft loss of income-producing property.

Repayments under claim of right. All you need to know is yourself Just answer simple questions about your life, and TurboTax Free Edition will take care of the rest. Looking for more information? Get more with these free tax calculators and money-finding tools. Make an appointment with one of our tax pros today.

Do you qualify for tax credits if you attended cosmetology school? Do you earn income in New York? If so, you will owe New York income taxes. Read here to learn more about the NY tax rate here. If you rack up job hunting costs, you could possibly deduct those expenses from your tax return. Learn more about deducting expenses from The Tax Institute. Can HSA tax deductions help when it comes to the alternative minimum tax?

The public charity or private foundation is a non-profit, IRS registered c 3 organization. Keep a record of the contribution usually the tax receipt from the charity.

For non-cash donations, you might have to obtain a qualified appraisal to substantiate the value of the deduction you are claiming. The itemized deduction for personal casualty and theft losses has been removed for Tax Years through with the exception of losses attributable to a federal disaster as declared by the President. These include expenses incurred on the job and are not reimbursed e. In summary, deductions for un-reimbursed employee expenses and tax preparation expenses cannot be included on Tax Returns.

Below is a summary of the sample amounts listed above in comparison to the Tax Return standard deductions. As you can see, with the filing status Single and Married Filing Separately, you would be well advised to itemize your deductions. All other filing statuses would do better with the standard deduction. Important Tax Tip!

If you are not sure, the eFile. If you still want to change it from one to the other and see the difference, we will also let you do that. Get Your Tax Refund Date. What is DocuClix? By Stephen Fishman , J.

Every year it's up to you to decide whether you should you itemize or take the standard deduction. The standard deduction is a specified dollar amount you are allowed to deduct each year to account for otherwise deductible personal expenses such as medical expenses, home mortgage interest and property taxes, and charitable contributions.

You take the standard deduction instead of deducting your actual personal expenses. The amount you are allowed to deduct depends on your filing status and is adjusted for inflation each year.

The TCJA roughly doubled the standard deduction starting in The IRS website has information on the current year standard deduction amounts. Instead of taking the standard deduction, you always have the option of itemizing your deductions. This means you individually deduct the actual amounts of certain expenses item by item instead of taking the standard deduction.

This is a lot more work than taking the standard deduction. You have to know what expenses are deductible and keep track of them. You also need to keep records of your expenses. Cancelled checks or credit card statements are not enough—you need to keep receipts and other bills showing what you spent the money on.

Itemized deductions are usually personal in nature, and don't include business expenses. Some of the more common ones are:.