In light of President Bush’s plan to allow a standard deduction for all persons who pay for healthcare insurance (or receive insurance through an employer), today’s Fix the Tax Code Friday question is:
Should itemized deductions be eliminated completely in favor of a standard deduction?
Kelly Phillips Erb, known as Taxgirl, is a tax attorney, writer, and speaker who explains tax news, IRS updates, scams, financial crime, and money in plain English.
Take note: The IRS has announced that users of the Where’s My Refund? feature may experience intermittent outages on Sunday, April 27, 2008 between the hours of 1:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. EST.
Effective for the year 2008, some taxpayers can save for retirement and earn a special tax credit. This credit, referred to as the “saver’s credit” can offset the first $2,000 contributed to the taxpayer’s IRA, 401(k) and other retirement plans. There is a catch. The credit is only available to taxpayers which meet certain income…
One of the frustrating things from a tax professional’s point of view about the magically shifting world of tax credits and deductions on the whims of Congress is that it confuses taxpayers. For 2011, tops on the list of things taxpayers can’t understand is the disappearance of the Making Work Pay Credit. But second? Repayment…
The Connecticut Department of Revenue has issued a warning to customers who might have been affected by the Anthem data breach. On the Department of Revenue website, Department of Revenue Services Commissioner Kevin Sullivan advised taxpayers who may have been affected by the Anthem data breach – especially those expecting a state or federal income…
The IRS has issued the 2012 optional standard mileage rates used for deducting the costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. They are: 55.5 cents per mile for business miles driven 23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable…
Taxpayer asks: hi can you deduct the sales tax paid if you leased a new car in june of 2009? Taxgirl says: Nope, sorry. If you’re referring to the new car sales tax deduction, leases are specifically excluded. However, if you itemize your taxes, you might still be able to claim sales taxes paid as…
Comments are closed.
I’ve always believed that the only “fair” tax cut would be raising the standard deduction. It could be raised high enough that itemizing would be a thing of the past. Raise it $10.000 and save the 10% bracket $1000 while saving the 28% bracket $2800. It would in effect be taking taxes off of the last dollar earned. Leave the itemizing option there if they want. I haven’t been able to use it in years.