Sunday, December 28, 2008

Need to Know the Tax Deduction Limits When Claiming Deductions?

By Angela Coates

It is not only good to know the tax deduction limits when you file your tax return, but it's also necessary to know if you want to lower your tax bill. Most people are always looking for ways to lower their income taxes owed to the IRS. They know that the more tax deductions they are able to take, the more tax savings they will have.

Some people who are new to tax filing and tax planning may not even know what IRS deductions are, let alone what the tax deduction limits are. IRS deductions are tax deductions that the IRS allows taxpayers to take for qualified expenses. These expenses are called tax deductible expenses and they are subtracted from the gross income that the IRS uses to calculate taxes that a taxpayer owe them.

Knowing the tax deduction limits will allow taxpayers to plan what they are going to owe the IRS. The more you know, the more creative you can be to claim the tax deductions to the limit. Some of the tax deduction limits are confusing and obscure so you may have to read relevant IRS publications to understand how to claim these tax deductions and how much to claim.

Some people think that IRS deductions are the same as tax credits and the tax deduction limits are also the same as tax credit limits. They are not. A tax deduction simply lowers taxable income for a taxpayer whereas a tax credit gives the taxpayer money directly. If there is a choice, taxpayers often prefer tax credits than tax deductions because tax credits save them more money than tax deductions do.

Different IRS deductions have their own tax deduction limits. The standard deduction has the easiest limit because it is set by the IRS for anyone claiming the standard deduction. Most people who do not have outrageous expenses during the year will find it best to just claim the standard deduction which is usually more than their itemized deductions anyway. To claim the standard deduction, just tick the box that says standard deduction on your tax form.

When a taxpayer is not eligible to claim the standard deduction, he or she will have to claim the itemized deductions and pay particular attention to relevant tax deduction limits. The taxpayer, of course, has the option of not claiming anything at all but most of them do to lower their tax bills. Each tax deductible expense will have a limit of how much a taxpayer can claim in tax deduction.

If you do not know your tax deduction limits, you will not know if it is best for you to take the standard deduction or itemized deductions when you qualify for both. Most taxpayers figure out what they would owe the IRS both ways and then take the tax deduction route that gives them the lowest taxable income.

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