| Tuesday, February 9, 2010 |
Here's a breakdown of top areas that can push you over the standard deduction edge:
-- Unreimbursed medical and dental expenses, deductible if they exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. Often overlooked: your parents' nursing home costs, if you pay them. "There are deductions that people are unaware of," says Jeffrey Kelson, a partner at accounting firm BDO Seidman. "Especially with the aging population, you might be able to exceed the 7.5 percent." Add up what you pay for items not fully covered by insurance, such as your child's braces, your eyeglasses, and mental-health counseling. If you have an expensive procedure scheduled for January, like a root canal, move it to December.
-- Mortgage interest on primary and secondary residences. "If you're trying to squeeze more into the current year, pay your house payment in late December rather than early January," says White. But be careful about trying to squeeze any more payments — such as the bill for February or March — into December, as your lender may apply the sum toward the principal, which isn't deductible, White says.
-- Gifts to charity. Now's a great time to clean your closets and donate old clothing and furniture to charity. And that extra set of wheels? This is the last year you can deduct the fair-market value of the car you donate. Starting in 2005, if your car's worth more than $500, your deduction is limited to the amount the charity actually receives for the car.
-- Casualty loss, if it's more than 10 percent of adjusted gross income. "There were a lot of storms this year — people might have had significant uninsured damage," Scharin says. If you didn't have flood insurance, or were underinsured, you may qualify for a deduction.
-- Other miscellaneous deductions, in excess of 2 percent of adjusted gross income. Looking for work? You can deduct job-hunting fees, even if you didn't get the job. Tax advice and preparation fees also are deductible.