Itemized Deductions

[RetireAge50]

We have used the following itemized deductions:
Mortgage Interest
Property Taxes
State Sales Tax
Car Tabs Excise Tax
Cash Donations
Non-Cash Donations

Are there other common ones I may be missing?

 

[gauss]

Do you pay a State income tax?

-gauss

 

[RetireAge50]

No State Income Tax (WA)

 

[RockyMtn]

medical/dental expenses beyond the limit?

 

[athena53]

medical/dental expenses beyond the limit?

And don't forget the limit is 7.5% if one of the filers is 65+. Ours will be a biggie this year; wage income only half the year, DH is 76, I had d2 dental implants and I just told DH to get hearing aids before EOY!

 

[RockyMtn]

Investments expenses, safe deposit box, tax prep fees?

 

[Willers]

Sales tax deduction adjustment if a large purchase made?

 

[RetireAge50]

Hmmm. Have not (luckily I guess) gone above the 7.5% for medical or 2% (investment expenses). Good for the list here though, thanks.

 

[kimcdougc]

If you have an RV payment, the interest on that is deductible.

 

[audreyh1]

We have used the following itemized deductions:
Mortgage Interest
Property Taxes
State Sales Tax
Car Tabs Excise Tax
Cash Donations
Non-Cash Donations

Are there other common ones I may be missing?

Is state sales tax still available as a deduction? I thought that 2013 was the last year.


Hmm - looks like there is legislation in congress right now to extend this. So it's still up in the air. http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/02/pf/taxes/tax-breaks/

 

[GTFan]

State of GA really pisses me off with how they treat fed itemized deductions - if you have them you can deduct the full amount from GA income, but if you don't have enough to reach the threshold (and take the fed standard) they only give you $3k off as a standard deduct. And it's been that way for years, never indexed to inflation. Can easily cost you $500+ in extra GA income tax just because you don't itemize.

Any other states screw you over like this?

 

[Mulligan]

State of GA really pisses me off with how they treat fed itemized deductions - if you have them you can deduct the full amount from GA income, but if you don't have enough to reach the threshold (and take the fed standard) they only give you $3k off as a standard deduct. And it's been that way for years, never indexed to inflation. Can easily cost you $500+ in extra GA income tax just because you don't itemize.



Any other states screw you over like this?

Gotcha beat, I think in MO, you pay state taxes above the first $900 or so. All taxed at 6%. Hasn't been changed since the 1930s I believe. All of the "graduated levels" are inside the $900 if I am not mistaken.


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[38Chevy454]

Charity mileage?
Home-based Office?
Vacation home mortgage interest?
HEL interest?
Any County/Local income taxes?

 

[EastWest Gal]

This is small but auto registration is tax deductible.

 

[38Chevy454]

This is small but auto registration is tax deductible.

only the portion that is based on value of the vehicle, not the basic registration fees. Also OP identified that as "Car Tabs Excise Tax" that is what he meant by that line.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

2014 will be the first time that we "bunched" over a two year period. Paid property taxes and charitable donations in late (really late) 2013. Only paid required stuff in 2014. Bunched state income tax to the extent we could. Will open the flood gates in early 2015.

 

[RetireAge50]

Ok I feel better, have not missed anything glaring over the years. Maybe some charity mileage, thanks.

I buy cars etc infrequently and so it is easy to forget the extra sales tax is deductible. Hopefully this deduction will be extended at the last second.

This year we put a big chunk into a donor advised fund since we are currently in 25% bracket and later will likely be in the 15% and/or use standard deduction.

 

[Senator]

Donations of household items, like books, clothes, exercise equipment, etc. While you are downsizing, you can write off the donation(s).

I put stuff out in the driveway, and they pick it up.

 

[RetireAge50]

http://satruck.org/donation-value-guide

The tax deduction for donating this stuff is better than selling at a garage sale!

 

[scrabbler1]

After going back and forth on this the whole year, I decided to bunch my itemized deductions for 2014. This includes making my 4th quarter 2014 estimated state income taxes in December instead of January (2015), the following month. I was also able to make 13 health insurance premium payments in 2014 because of a January 2014 snafu following the delay in the state-run exchange's setup of my new ACA policy.

New York had never indexed its standard deduction or its income tax brackets until 2013, causing a type of bracket creep. But that is no longer a problem, thankfully. NY's SD is higher than the federal one so combine that with not being able to deduct one's state income taxes makes it pretty common to itemize on the federal return but take the SD on the state return.

One thing working slightly against bunching is the reduction of my ACA subsidy in 2015 due to a state property tax rebate I will have to count as income once I itemize the property taxes the rebate will partially offset.

 

[Revlefty]

The Salvation Army Family Stores: Donation Value Guide

The tax deduction for donating this stuff is better than selling at a garage sale!

I also use itsdeductible.com (from Turbotax). I don't use the Turbotax for my taxes, but I still use the site to get values.

 

[KingB]

State of GA really pisses me off with how they treat fed itemized deductions - if you have them you can deduct the full amount from GA income, but if you don't have enough to reach the threshold (and take the fed standard) they only give you $3k off as a standard deduct. And it's been that way for years, never indexed to inflation. Can easily cost you $500+ in extra GA income tax just because you don't itemize.

Any other states screw you over like this?

Illinois does not have any itemized deductions.

 

[jebmke]

Donations of household items, like books, clothes, exercise equipment, etc. While you are downsizing, you can write off the donation(s).

I put stuff out in the driveway, and they pick it up.

Yes, although they will look for a receipt if audited (I know from experience). For small stuff -- books, clothes etc I don't bother trying to deduct because the values are so small anyway. Our library sells used books for 25 cents so you have to give a way a lot of books to make a dent in the tax bill.

 

[MooreBonds]

Gotcha beat, I think in MO, you pay state taxes above the first $900 or so. All taxed at 6%. Hasn't been changed since the 1930s I believe. All of the "graduated levels" are inside the $900 if I am not mistaken.


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Mulligan, although I like paying taxes as much as you do, I do need to clarify a misstatement in your post: you're referring to a simple flat-tax rate of 6% above $900. That's a different subject than what the OP was referring to.

Regarding the original point of GA not allowing some federal deductions...your starting point with MO income taxes is with your federal AGI, so you are allowed to incorporate all federal Schedule A deductions into your MO income taxes.

However, in a somewhat similar vein....in MO, you are only allowed to deduct up to $5,000 in federal taxes paid as a deduction as a single filer ($10,000 for combined filer). If you paid $1,493,101 in federal income taxes, you can only reduce your MO taxable income by $5,000 for Missouri taxes as a single filer.

 

[Mulligan]

Mulligan, although I like paying taxes as much as you do, I do need to clarify a misstatement in your post: you're referring to a simple flat-tax rate of 6% above $900. That's a different subject than what the OP was referring to.

Regarding the original point of GA not allowing some federal deductions...your starting point with MO income taxes is with your federal AGI, so you are allowed to incorporate all federal Schedule A deductions into your MO income taxes.

However, in a somewhat similar vein....in MO, you are only allowed to deduct up to $5,000 in federal taxes paid as a deduction as a single filer ($10,000 for combined filer). If you paid $1,493,101 in federal income taxes, you can only reduce your MO taxable income by $5,000 for Missouri taxes as a single filer.

Yes, sorry you are correct. That 5k cap you mentioned hits me too. But I am not willing to get married to gain that additional 5k relief!


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