Monday, December 29, 2008

Don't Claim Deductions without Knowing your Tax Deduction Limits

By Angela Coates

There are many reasons why people should know the tax deduction limits when they claim IRS deductions. Most people would say that the main reason is obviously so that they will have to pay the least amount of taxes to the IRS. Usually, the more tax deductions they are able to claim, the less taxes they will have to pay and most people want to pay as little taxes as possible.

Before a taxpayer can understand the importance of knowing tax deduction limits, they have to understand what tax deductions are. Some people do not even know what they are because they never have to claim them. The concept of tax deductions is simple. Tax deductions are expenses that the IRS allows taxpayers to subtract from their income. The result is that, the more tax deductions the taxpayer can subtract from his or her income, the less taxes he or she will have to pay the IRS.

Most of the time, taxpayers want to claim as many IRS deductions as they can and knowing the tax deduction limits will help them. However, not everyone can claim tax deductions and not every expenses are tax deductible. Therefore, it is important to learn the tax codes to know what are tax deductible and what are not so that you can claim the most IRS tax deductions possible.

The IRS deductions are not to be confused with tax credit. The same goes for tax deduction limits versus tax credit limits. They are different. Most people prefer tax credits because tax credits give taxpayers dollars into their pockets whereas tax deductions just lower taxable income. If there is no income, then there is not use lowering it but tax credits may work even if there is no income to report.

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.

Some taxpayers are not eligible to claim standard deduction so they must claim the itemized deductions and pay attention to the tax deduction limits. The itemized deductions are more complicated than standard deduction because each tax deductible item has its own limit. If you are qualified for both the standard deduction and the itemized deductions, it is important to know the limits so that you can calculate which route is best for your tax return.

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. - 15275

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