Casualties and Losses:
Due to the tax cuts and jobs act, this deduction is no longer available after tax year 2018 (except in Federally declared disaster areas)
A "casualty loss" is a loss that is a result of a sudden, unexpected, or unusual event. Examples include theft, vandalism, fire, earthquake, hurricane, tornadoes, and floods. In addition, you can deduct losses that are the result of car, boat, or other accidents (unless the accident was caused by your willful conduct, such as drunken driving). Deductible casualty or loss items can be either for personal property or business property. To access this in our program go to:
- Deductions
- Itemized Deductions
- Less Common Deductions
- Casualties and Losses
Elderly or Disabled Credit:
You may be eligible for this tax credit if, on December 31 of last year, you or your spouse were either:
- Over age 65, OR
- Retired on permanent and total disability and you reported taxable disability income.
However, this credit is not that common because only low-income taxpayers qualify. To access this in our program go to:
- Deductions
- Credits
- Credit for the Elderly or Disabled
Alimony Paid:
As of the 2019 tax year, this deduction is no longer available if made under a divorce or separation agreement executed after Dec. 31, 2018.
If you made payments to your former spouse under a divorce or separation agreement, you can usually deduct those payments on your tax return. Note: This deduction does not include child support. To access this in our program go to:
- Deductions
- Adjustments
- Alimony Paid
Other Deductible Expenses:
There are several other items for which you can take a deduction on your return. These are:
- Jury duty pay that you gave to your employer
- Reforestation amortization and expenses you paid
- Repayment of supplemental unemployment benefits under the Trade Act of 1974
- Contributions to a 501(C)(18) pension plan
- Expenses you paid related to the rental of personal property engaged in for profit
- Contributions by certain chaplains to a 403b plan
- Attorney fees you paid for actions involving certain unlawful discrimination claims
Early Withdrawal Penalty:
If you make an early withdrawal from an interest-bearing savings account, you may have been charged an early withdrawal penalty. The amount of this penalty can be used to reduce your tax bill.
If you received any Form 1099-INTs, the amount of your deduction will be listed in Box 2.
Domestic Activities:
Beginning in tax year 2018, this has been replaced with the Qualified Business Income Deduction.
If you regularly and continuously participated in your own business or a partnership, you may be able to deduct a portion of the taxable income from that business. To be eligible, you had to pay wages to employees and issue those employees W-2s. Also, you only qualify if your business was one of the following activities:
- Construction of real property in the US
- Engineering or architectural services performed in the US for the construction of property in the US
- Any lease, rental, license, sale, exchange, or other disposition of:
- Tangible personal property that was produced in whole in the US.
- Any qualified film you produced,
- Electricity, natural gas, or potable water you produced in the US.
For more information, please review Form 8903.
Other Miscellaneous Deductions
There are several other expenses that the IRS will allow you to deduct that are simply categorized as "Miscellaneous Deductions". These include:
- Amortizable premium on taxable bonds
- Federal estate tax on income in respect to a decedent
- Gambling losses (up to the amount of the gambling winnings you reported)
- Impairment-related work expenses
- Repayment under claim or right (only if you had to repay more than $3000 that was included in your income in an earlier year)
- Unrecovered investment in pension
- Tax preparation fees, including the cost of tax preparation software and any fee for electronically filing your return.
- Investment fees and expenses paid for managing your investments
* Some Miscellaneous Deductions are no longer available due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
To access this in our program go to:
- Deductions
- Itemized Deductions
- Miscellaneous Deductions