Finding Deductions .: TaxSlayer.com Help Center

An Overview of Deductions for Gifts to Charity
You can deduct contributions or gifts that you may have made to various organizations during the tax year. Qualifying contributions can be made in...

Business Use of Home (Overview)
Whether you are self–employed or are an employee, you may be able to deduct certain expenses for the part of your home you use for business despite...

Business Use of Your Home - What expenses can be deducted?
There are 2 types of expenses that you can deduct: Direct Expenses and Indirect Expenses. Direct Expenses are those expenses that are paid only...

Calculating my deduction for an Early Withdrawal Penalty
The Form 1099-INT or Form 1099-OID you received will show the amount of any penalty you were charged.You can locate your penalty on Form 1099-INT...

Can I deduct the closing costs from purchasing my home?
The closing statement to a real estate purchase contains many potential tax deductions. Treatment of closing statement line items differ depending...

Charitable Contribution Carryover
You can carry over your contributions that you are not able to deduct in the current year because they exceed your adjusted-gross-income limits....

Deduction for Mortgage Insurance Premiums (Overview)
The most common type of deductible mortgage insurance premium is Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). Generally, though, if your mortgage insurance...

Deduction for State and Local Income Taxes
You can deduct a variety of state and local income taxes that you paid during the tax year. These include:State and local income taxes withheld...

Description of Additional Taxes that You May Have Paid
Federal Estimated Payments: Federal estimated payments are generally payments that you make to the IRS either because: You are self-employed; or...

Examples of 1099-B and 1099-MISC forms
To view examples of these forms you can click on the URL's below. To view a 1099-B go here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099b.pdfTo view a...

Examples of other deductible expenses
Examples of other Deductible Expenses:Archer MSA deduction (see Form 8853). Jury duty pay is you gave the pay to your employer because your...

Examples of other Job related expenses:
Safety equipment, small tools, and supplies needed for your job.Uniforms required by your employer that are not suitable for ordinary...

Foreign Taxes NOT Eligible for a credit?
You cannot take a Foreign Tax Credit based on any of the following taxes:1. Taxes paid to a foreign country that you do not legally owe, including...

General Information about Educator Expenses
If you are an eligible educator, you may be able to deduct up to $250 of expenses you paid for purchases of books and classroom supplies. These...

Gifts to Charity - What is a "qualifying organization"?
For your donation or contribution to be deductible, the primary function or purpose of the organization that you donated to must be one of the...

How can I find out if I paid mortgage insurance or not?
In most cases, you will receive a Form 1098, Mortage Interest Statement, that will report the amount of your qualified premiums in Box 4. If you...

How do I add a miscellaneous deduction that is not inTaxSlayer's list?
If you need to report a qualifying expense for which there is no specific entry field, this can be added within the Miscellaneous Deductions entry...

How do I figure my deduction for state and local sales taxes?
The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 authorized the sales tax deduction as an option for those who itemize deductions, letting them choose...

I do not own a home. I rent. Can I deduct the rent I paid?
No. You cannot deduct rent you paid while renting your home on your federal return. Some states offer a deduction for this. To see if your state...

I paid medical expenses for people other than just myself. Whose medical expenses can I deduct on my return?
You can include in your deduction for Medical and Dental Expenses any qualifying medical and dental bills you paid for:Yourself and your spouse.All...

I used my car for my job. What type of mileage can I deduct?
Generally, the only mileage that you can deduct is "business mileage". This usually includes:Getting from one workplace to another in...

Interest You Paid - How do I enter Points NOT Reported on 1098?
If you did not receive a Form 1098 from the recipient (bank, mortgage lender, individual, etc) of the points that you paid, contact that recipient...

Interest You Paid - Interest NOT Reported on Form 1098
If you did not receive a Form 1098 from the recipient (bank, mortgage lender, individual, etc.) of the mortgage interest that you paid, contact...

Interest You Paid - Interest Reported on Form 1098
Home mortgage interest and points are generally reported to you on Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement, by the financial institution to which...

Interest You Paid - Overview
Home mortgage interest is interest that you pay on a loan secured by your main home or a second home. The loan may be a mortgage to buy your home,...

Investment Interest Expense
If you borrow money to buy property you hold for investment (such as bonds or certain securities), the interest you pay is considered investment...

Itemized Deductions - Information about line 15b on the Schedule A
Qualified Contributions:In general, you can elect to treat gifts by cash or check as qualified contributions if the gifts were paid after August...

Limitations on your deduction for Charitable Contributions
If your charitable contributions meet one following conditions, the amount of your deduction may be limited:Your cash contributions of ordinary...

Miscellaneous Deductions - What is the 2% rule?
If you itemize your deductions, part of the expenses that you claim as deductions may be limited by the 2% rule. Deductions that are included are...

Overview of Travel Expenses
"Travel expenses" are expenses that you paid in relation to transportation or travel for business. For a travel expense to qualify for...

Overview of Casualties and Losses
A casualty loss can result from the damage, destruction or loss of your property from any sudden, unexpected, and unusual event such as a flood,...

Overview of Deductions for Taxes You Paid
There are four types of nonbusiness taxes that the IRS will allow you to deduct if you are itemizing your deductions. These include: State, local,...

Please explain all of the credits and deductions that are available related to retirement and investment.
IRA Deductions: Generally, any contributions that you (or your spouse, if applicable) made to a Traditional IRA qualify as a deduction on your...

Please explain all of the credits that are available related to me and my family.
Child and Dependent Care Costs:If you paid someone to care for your child who is under age 13 (such as daycare), you may be able to reduce your tax...

Please explain all of the deductions and credits that are available related to Education.
Interest you have paid on student loans:If you attended a college, university, or vocational school after high school, you may have taken out...

Please explain all of the deductions and credits that are available related to my auto and my other personal property.
Car Registration FeesIf you own a car, you probably pay a yearly fee for for car registration. All or part of this registration fee may be an...

Please explain all of the deductions and credits that are available related to my job.
Educator (Teacher) Expenses: If you or your spouse worked as an educator, you probably spent money on supplies, materials, and other teaching...

Please explain all of the deductions that are available related to Medical Expenses.
Medical and dental expenses, such as doctor visits, health insurance, glasses, etc.:Generally, you are allowed a deduction for most of the medical...

Please explain all of the deductions that are available related to my home.
Mortgage Interest Paid:Generally, any interest that you pay on a home mortgage can be deducted on your return as long as 1.The proceeds from the...

Please explain the deductions and credits that are available in the Other Deductions section of TaxSlayer.
Casualties and Thefts: A "casualty loss" is a loss that is a result of a sudden, unexpected, or unusual event. Examples include theft,...

Qualifications for deducting a job related expense
To deduct an expense as an unreimbursed employee expense, it had to be both ordinary and necessary. An ordinary expense is one that is common and...

Sales Tax Deduction Calculator
Using the Sales Tax Deduction CalculatorTo figure the amount of optional general sales tax you are eligible to claim, just answer a few online...

Unreimbursed Employee Expenses - Vehicle Expenses
There are 2 methods for computing vehicle expenses: the standard mileage rate and the actual expense method. You cannot use the standard mileage...

Unreimbursed Employee Expenses - What can be deducted?
If you paid for expenses related to your job during the tax year, many of these expenses may be eligible to be deducted on your return. For you to...

Unreimbursed Employee Expenses - What CANNOT be deducted?
If you paid for expenses related to your job during the tax year, many of these expenses may be eligible to be deducted on your return. For you to...

What are Estimated Taxes?
Estimated tax is the method used to pay tax on income that is not subject to withholding. This includes income from self-employment, interest,...

What are the qualifications for "miscellaneous deductions"?
To qualify to be entered as a Miscellaneous Deduction, the expense must be an expense that was paid for one of the following:To produce or collect...

What CAN and CANNOT be deducted as a Casualty or a Loss?
What CAN be deducted?You can deduct losses from fire, storm, flood, shipwreck, or other casualty. You can also deduct losses from thefts such as...

What can be deducted as "Personal Property Rental Expenses"?
You can only take a deduction for Personal Property Rental Expenses if you reported Other Income that was from the rental of personal property (if...

What can I include as Prior Year 4th Quarter Estimates?
If you are itemizing your deductions, the IRS will generally allow you to take a deduction for state and local taxes that you paid during the tax...

What CANNOT be included as an investment interest expense?
Investment interest expense does not include any of the folloiwng:Home mortgage interestInterest expense that is properly allocable to a passive...

What Gifts and Donations to Charity can I Deduct?
Cash contributions (such as tithes or donations):You can deduct any gifts in cash or by check that you made to qualifying charitable organizations....

What if I paid for mortgage insurance but did not get a Form 1098?
If you did not receive a Form 1098 but you did in fact pay mortgage insurance, you would need to contact the mortgage insurance issuer to determine...

What is "investment interest"?
Investment interest is interest that was paid on money that you borrowed to buy property that is held for investment. If you paid this type of...

What is a 50% Limit Organization?
Only the following types of organizations are 50% Limit Organizations:Churches, and conventions or associations of churches. Educational...

What is a Capital Gain Property?
Property is capital gain property if its sale at fair market value on the date of the contribution would have resulted in long-term capital gain....

What is the difference between "Direct Expenses" and "Indirect Expenses"?
There are 2 types of expenses that you can deduct: Direct Expenses and Indirect Expenses. Direct Expenses: Direct expenses are those expenses...

What kinds of medical and dental expenses are allowed to be deducted?
The IRS allows you to deduct certain medical expenses when you itemize your deductions. Below are detailed lists of what can and cannot be...

What Personal Property Taxes (such as car registration fees) qualify for deduction?
The IRS will allow you deduct certain state and local taxes you paid during the year on personal property (such as a car or a boat). To be...

What real estate taxes can I deduct on my return?
You can deduct taxes you paid on real estate if the following qualifications are met:The real estate you own was not used for business.These taxes...

What taxes are eligible for foreign tax credit?
You can take a credit for income, war profits, and excess profits taxes paid or accrued during your tax year to any foreign country or U.S....

When can you claim foreign tax credit?
The Foreign Tax Credit is usually calculated using IRS Form 1116. However, you are not always required to use this form. You can generally claim...

When do I qualify to take a deduction for the business use of my home?
If you use your home for work-related issues, you may be able to claim a deduction for the business use of your home. To qualify to claim expenses...

Where do I enter mortgage interest?
From the main menu of your return, select "Itemized Deductions" and then select "Interest You Paid".

Who can deduct Moving Expenses?
If you moved due to a change in your job or business because you started a new job, you may be able to deduct your moving expenses. To qualify for...

Who must pay estimated taxes?
If you had a tax liability for 2008, you may have to pay estimated tax for 2009.General RuleYou must pay estimated tax for 2009 if both of the...