Don’t Forget These Often-Overlooked Tax Deductions
It’s that time again – receipts are being collected, salaries are being assessed, and everyone’s a little extra bummed. If you haven’t guessed, it’s tax season. Most of it is familiar, but there are some changes this year that have taxpayers double-checking their numbers, as certain deductions are no longer a thing…
Pay The Man
People have been paying professionals to do their taxes for years. It’s never been cheap, but it’s cheaper than the costs of stress and aggravation. Those who paid for those services knew the tiny silver lining was that you could deduct those expenses in the next tax year. Unfortunately, that silver lining has disintegrated, because all tax preparation fees – including software and publications – are no longer able to be deducted from your taxes. Yes, sadly, this is true.
Disastrous Deductions
Anyone who has experienced a natural disaster or a major theft knows the aftermath is costly. The helpful bit was that you could find tax exemptions for those losses. But new tax laws have removed exemptions for substantial property damage due to natural or human-caused disasters. Now, only losses caused by casualties are able to be deducted.
Your Business, Not Your Rules
Entrepreneurs are also affected by these changes. In the past, organized business owners could deduct business and employment expenses like meals, travel, and entertainment. This is no longer the case. Those expenses, as well as the costs of job searching, professional dues, home office setup, and work clothes, are no longer deductible.
The Cost Of Movin’ And Groovin’
From the moving truck to the movers, moving expenses can be costly – not to mention the cost of personal time. In the past, if you started a new job in the same year that you moved to a new location, you could deduct those moving expenses in the same tax year. But 2019 no longer allows for that deduction, unless you are an active-duty member of the military. There are even restrictions on those restrictions. Only those who move as a result of a military order are eligible for that deduction.
A Hard Hit
The most dramatic change is to the personal exemption category. This is one deduction that was open to anyone and everyone, regardless of income, filing status, or any other tax-related factors. You could claim one for yourself, your spouse, and every dependent in your household. But this exemption doesn’t exist anymore, which is a significant change for pretty much everyone.
As our tax structure is changing, so are we. As we adjust our taxes, we’ll have to learn to adjust our lives a little as well. But you’ve probably already figured out that 2020 is shaping up to be all about big life adjustments, right?