How to Itemize Your Income Taxes
- 1). Keep copies of all your receipts for possible deductions. Set up a special folder in your filing cabinet or desk and use it to hold all your physical receipts. Use a spreadsheet or bookkeeping program to enter and categorize those receipts electronically. Look for a program capable of importing that information directly into the tax preparation program you use.
- 2). Download a copy of the 1040 form, and find the amount of the standard deduction. The standard deduction used by the IRS changes from time to time, so always download a current copy of the form.
- 3). Obtain a copy of Schedule A. This schedule is used to itemize your deductions. You can download the schedule from the IRS website.
- 4). Review the categories on Schedule A, and go through your receipts to add up your allowable deductions in each category. If you use a bookkeeping software package, you might be able to simply print off an itemized list, otherwise you will need to calculate the amounts for each category.
- 5). Enter the total deductions on each line of Schedule A. Add up all your deductions and compare the total to the standard deduction. If the total of your itemized deductions is more than the standard deduction, transfer that total to the 1040 form. Otherwise, enter the standard deduction.
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