Tax Related Questions > Deductions

Tuition and Fees Deduction The tuition and fees deduction allows you to deduct up to $4,000 of qualified educational expenses from your adjusted gross income. Qualifying expens...
Qualified Education Expenses The various education credits available to students and those who pay for them are based on the money spent on qualified education expenses, but the d...
What Is an Eligible Educational Institution for Tax Purposes? Any college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student loan program administe...
Educator Expenses Deduction Eligible educators can deduct up to $250 of expenses for books, supplies, computer equipment, and other classroom materials incurred over the course o...
State and Local Sales Tax Deduction Those who itemize deductions on Schedule A have the option of claiming either state and local income taxes or state and local sales taxes. They canno...
What Are Charitable Contributions? Charitable contributions, in cash or in property donated to qualified organizations, are tax deductible only if you itemize your deductions on Schedu...
Home Mortgage Interest Deduction The Home Mortgage Interest deduction allows you to deduct the interest paid in a given year on a loan taken to secure your primary residence, where yo...
What Are Casualty Loss Deductions? A casualty loss against your home, household items, or vehicle, resulting from property damage or destruction by a sudden, unexpected, or unusual even...
Sales Tax Deduction for Vehicle Purchases The Sales Tax Deduction for Vehicle Purchases is a tax deduction that allows taxpayers to deduct the state and local sales or excise taxes paid on the...
Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Self-employed taxpayers with a net profit for the year may be able to deduct the amount they paid for medical and qualified long-term care insurance f...
Archer Medical Savings Account (MSA) Archer MSAs are tax-exempt trusts or custodial accounts set up with a U.S. financial institution that allow taxpayers who are self-employed and employ...
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) A health savings account (HSA) is a tax-exempt trust or custodial account created to pay or reimburse qualified medical expenses. In general, any adul...
Employee Business Expenses - Form 2106 Form 2106 is for employees to deduct ordinary and necessary expenses for their jobs. An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your ...
Unreimbursed Employee Business Expenses - Form 2106-EZ Form 2106-EZ is for employees to deduct ordinary and necessary work expenses for which they were not reimbursed by their employer. An ordinary expen...
Moving Expenses - Form 3903 You can use Form 3903 to deduct your moving expenses. Your move must occur within 1 year of the start of work at the new location. Note, you do not n...
Depreciation and Amortization (Including Information on Listed Property) - Form 4562 Form 4562 allows you to claim a variety of deductions related to depreciation and amortization including Depreciation of property placed in service d...
Casualties and Thefts - Form 4684 Form 4684 reports casualties and thefts of both personal use property and income-producing business property. Destruction of property by fire, storm, ...
Investment Interest Expense Deduction - Form 4952 You must file Form 4952 to claim the investment interest expense deduction and determine how much investment interest expense you can carry forward to...
Noncash Charitable Contributions - Form 8283 File Form 8283 to report noncash charitable contributions to the IRS, but only if the amount of your deduction for noncash gifts is greater than $500....
Expenses for Business Use of Your Home - Form 8829 Form 8829 is used to calculate allowable expenses for the business use of your home as well as any carryover of amounts not deductible for the current...
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) Deduction Contributions to traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs are tax deductible, reducing your taxable income and thus your overall income tax liability. Contrib...
Mortgage Insurance Premium Tax Deduction Your mortgage insurance premiums may be tax deductible, but you must itemize deductions in order to receive it any potential benefit. To deduct the p...
Standard Mileage Rates The standard mileage rates are optional set rates that employees, self-employed individuals, and other taxpayers can use to compute the tax deductible...
What Are Non-Business Deductible Taxes? There are five types of non-business taxes you can deduct on your federal tax return: State, local, and foreign income taxes - you can deduct the sta...
I had financial aid for college. Is there a credit or deduction I should file for? Students with financial aid may be able to take the Student Loan Interest Deduction, which lets you deduct the interest paid on student loans. The ded...
Can I deduct any of my medical expenses? You can deduct medical and dental expenses that exceed 7.5% of your AGI as long as you itemize your deductions. Expenses include the costs of diagnosi...
Gambling Losses Deduction You can deduct gambling losses as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on your Schedule A, but only up to the amount you report in gambling winnings on ...
Miscellaneous Deductions Many itemized deductions are grouped under the umbrella term “miscellaneous deductions” and, like other itemized deductions, can be claimed on your Sc...
Domestic Production Activities Deduction - Form 8903 The domestic production activities deduction, often called the manufacturer’s deduction, is a tax deduction that individuals involved in domestic manu...
What Is a Deduction? A tax deduction is a special tax break that reduces the amount of income on which you are taxed, thus reducing your overall tax burden. Deductions ar...
What Is the Standard Deduction? The standard deduction is a set amount, adjusted yearly for inflation, that can be subtracted from your gross income, thus reducing the total income u...
What Are Itemized Deductions? - Schedule A Every taxpayer can choose to take either the standard deduction or itemize deductions, usually whichever results in the least tax due. If you choose t...
What is the difference between deductions and credits? Both deductions and credits save you money on your taxes, but they do it in different ways. Credits apply directly to your tax burden, reducing out...
I am self-employed, is there a deduction for me? A number of different deductions could apply to you and your business, too many to cover here. It’s best to look at all of them in depth. But here are...
Do I get a deduction for owning (or buying) a home? There are several tax breaks available to homeowners. The Home Mortgage Interest Deduction allows you to deduct interest paid on a home mortgage. Mo...
Above-the-Line Deductions Above-the-line deductions are deductions that you subtract directly from your gross income and are separate from normal itemized deductions, which you...