It's January 1, soooooooo.....(official tax time thread)

Oh, IJAG just revealed it. I lie. I use TurboTax, not Protax. and TurboTax is wonderful.

If there is less than $50,000 income in your household, I have been told you can get the software from the IRS website for free. Just an FYI.

 

Dammit. I'll just have to quit this $500,000 ESPN column writing job of mine then. Oh wait, no, I still own my soul. Although it would be nice to be able to actually afford having the internet at home to make use of the free version.

 

Wow. We could get five copies.

 

Itemized deductions are a federal, not a state, option, although some states (I call them ftards) have many, many, many deductions available.

You can't deduct expenses for clothing that can be worn for everyday use. Uniforms, yes. Regular clothes, no, although I know a couple of people who have done it.

The tuition credit is helpful but not always advantageous to claim.

As far as software, I think each package has its benefits and flaws.

The telephone tax credit is new this year, but I believe there's a standard amount or an itemized amount for it, if you can prove you should get more than the standard credit.

 

If you have a home office, that is strictly for work, you can deduct that amount of square footage from your rent or mortgage, So if you live in 1,000 sf and you home office is 200 sf, you can deduct 20 percent. That also extends into utilities, so 20 pecent of your electricity, water, etc.
But beware, if you claim a home office, the IRS has been known to show up and inspect the property. If you have a bed in the home office, that doesn't make it a home office, that makes it a spare bedroom with a computer in it. And that wipes out all those deductions.
Most people don't have enough mileage to claim the difference between reimbursement and the federal allowance. It was used to be much easier to claim mileage, but the IRS changed the rules on that.

 

I'm afraid I'm going to need a response on that issue. [/copfromdiehard3]

The number of miles has little to nothing to do with being able to claim the difference.

 

It's more whatever percentage you use that item for work-related expenses, minus depreciation on some items as well.