OVERVIEW
Some common income tax deductions that can lower your annual taxes include mortgage interest, state and local property taxes, charitable contributions, and non-reimbursed work expenses. Find deductions that you are eligible for with help from TurboTax in this video on annual tax filing.
Beginning in 2018, expenses for employees are no longer deductible as unreimbursed employee expenses.
Video transcript:
Hello, I'm Nick from TurboTax with some information about common tax deductions you may qualify for.
The most common way of reducing your taxable income, is to claim every deduction you're eligible for.
Each tax deduction has its own set of rules and requirements. So, ensure you qualify before claiming it on your return.
However, there are many common deductions that a large number of tax payers claim every year without any problem.
Before you start looking at the criteria for claiming each tax deduction, you need to evaluate whether you're eligible to itemize your deductions, since a majority of them can only be claimed if you itemize.
All you need to do is, add up each expense that you incurred during the year that qualifies for a tax deduction. And compare it to the standard deduction for the year.
If it exceeds the standard deduction, it is in your best interest to itemize it, since it'll result in a larger deduction.
If you file with TurboTax, we'll do this calculation for you, and figure out which filing status will get you the biggest savings.
Frequently claimed tax deductions include the mortgage interest you pay on your home loan each year, state and local property taxes, charitable contributions you make, and even expenses that relate to your work, if your employer does not reimburse you.
(Beginning in 2018, expenses for employees are no longer deductible as unreimbursed employee expenses.)
For example, the mortgage interest rules allow you to claim a tax deduction for up to two homes, as long as the combined mortgages do not exceed one million dollars. Because the limitation is so high, most tax payers will qualify.
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