Tax Stewart and Robert Stewart knows that everyone loves a good tax deduction. Unfortunately, as taxpayers scour their drawers for every last cab receipt, they might be overlooking bigger deductions and credits that are not widely known. Here are 10 top tips they offered.
Tax Stewart states you can't deduct the volunteer work you do for charity. But you can deduct any expenses related to that work. If you drive disabled children to a baseball game once a week or pay parking to attend board meetings at a literacy charity, you can claim a standard mileage deduction or itemize your gas costs. Tax Stewart says there is a similar rule applies to medical travel. If your total medical expenses exceeded 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income, you can write them off. This means you can include any travel or parking costs incurred for doctors' appointments.
Tax Stewart found that if you are self-employed, you can write off any expenses related to your job as long as you're incurring these expenses exclusively for work. If you subscribe to food magazines because you're a chef, make sure to include those in your return. If you watch TV because you're an actor who needs to keep an eye on the competition, that's another deduction. Tax Stewart says don't forget the mother of all deductions: the home office. If you use a room in your home, or even a particular corner, exclusively for work, you can deduct a portion of your rent or mortgage payments.
Tax Stewart knows you've probably heard about the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers. But do you know about the $6,500 credit for repeat homeowners?
Tax Stewart discovered that many taxpayers don't bother to tally their deductions, since they know they won't meet the 2 percent threshold that allows them to start itemizing. Luckily, Congress has added some new standard deductions which anyone can take advantage of. The latest one introduced this year to help boost auto sales: a deduction for the sales and excise tax paid on new car purchases.
Tax Stewart found if you had losses related to a catastrophe in a federal disaster area and insurance didn't cover your whole loss, you can write it off on your return.
Tax Stewart found single filers can deduct up to $500 in real estate taxes, while joint filers can deduct $1,000.
Tax Stewart discovered if you're a student you can't deduct the books you buy for school. But once you graduate, as long as you're actually using the books for work, you can amortize those books as part of your "professional library."
Tax Stewart learned if you're looking for a job, and land some interviews in Orlando, Fla., the IRS doesn't care if you stop over at Disneyland for a night. You do have to limit your deductions to fair expenses related to your trip: your airline ticket, the hotel you stayed in the night before your interview.
Tax Stewart found if you lost your job to someone overseas, the government will pay up to 80 percent of your health care costs. To qualify for this "health coverage tax credit," you must be receiving "trade adjustment assistance" (TAA) benefits, or must be receiving a pension from the government after your employer terminated its retirement plan.
This has been a public service announcement from Robert Stewart and http://www.taxstewart.com
