What Is My Income Tax Deduction Based On?

The tax laws allow a number of deductions from your gross, or total, income to arrive at your adjusted gross income, or AGI. If you qualify for any of these deductions, they are generally deductible regardless of whether you claim the standard or itemized deduction. Some of these deductions include student loan interest, tuition and fees, educator expenses and alimony payments you may have paid through the year.

Often, these deductions are limited if your modified adjusted gross income amount is too high. In 2012 for example, you can deduct up to $2,500 of student loan interest payments if your MAGI is less than $75,000. Your MAGI equals the AGI you report on your tax return increased by the amount of your student loan interest deduction. In other words, it is what your AGI would be if you did not claim a deduction for student loan interest.

There are many deductions that are only available when you qualify to itemize. Many of these deductions will face separate limits that are determined by your AGI. For example, your annual charitable contribution deduction cannot exceed 50 percent of your AGI. A second example is the miscellaneous expenses you report as part of your itemized deductions. Most of these expenses are only deductible on the portion that exceeds 2 percent of your AGI. Using your AGI as a limitation ensures that you cannot eliminate your entire tax bill through deductions.

Each dependent you claim on the return allows you to reduce your taxable income by a set exemption amount. For example, if during 2012 you have two minor children who reside with you and for whom you provide all financial support, claiming both of them as dependents allows you to take two exemptions. These exemptions work like deductions in that they reduce your taxable income by $7,600 ($3,800 for each child). However, you may not claim any dependents, even for your children, if you are eligible to be a dependent of another taxpayer.

Every taxpayer who does not itemize their deductions is eligible to claim a standard deduction. Federal law determines the amount of these deductions each year and bases the amount you can claim on your filing status.

In 2012, if you file single or married filing separately, your standard deduction is $5,950; if head of household the amount increases to $8,700. If you are married and file a joint return, your combined standard deduction with your spouse is $11,900. When evaluating whether to itemize your deductions instead of taking the standard deduction, you must compare your total expenses to the appropriate standard deduction amount for your filing status. If your itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction, then you can enhance your tax savings by itemizing and attaching a Schedule A to your tax return.

When you prepare your taxes with TurboTax, we’ll recommend the filing status that gets you the best tax outcome.