Take Advantage of Every One You Can

If you file a return every year that includes itemized deductions, be sure you take advantage of EVERY one you can. Some of the more commonly overlooked tax deductions include, interest on mortgage payments, carrying forward investment losses, and deductions for childcare. If you’ve bought energy efficient appliances in the last year, 30% of the cost, up to $1500 is tax deductable, and so are expenses related to tax planning and preparation. If you need help understanding the more than 70,000 pages of tax code this past year, hire a professional to file your tax return for you. The fee you pay them for this service may also be considered tax deductible. The Internal Revenue Service, with all its power, can be brought down by an act of Congress, or at least held back. Although the IRS commissioner says the majority of taxpayers will NOT be impacted by the delay in receiving itemized tax returns, more than a third will be. There is, however, a thin silver lining, you will have three extra days to file your return this year. Due to Emancipation Day, the official “tax day” for 2011, will fall on April 18th. When the family of self-made billionaire Dan Duncan was asked what they thought about the estate tax potentially being retroactive in 2010, they said it would make LITTLE difference to them. Duncan, an oil executive in Houston, Texas and recently rated in Forbes list of the top 100 billionaires in the world, had already gifted most of his estate to his 5 children and 9 grandchildren well before his death. rnWith all the new tax laws in 2011 you should be well motivated to review your current estate plan. It seems as though Congress changes the rules and laws every couple of years, keeping tax attorneys, accountants, and anyone with an estate working hard to stay up with the new laws and maximizing what can be passed on to family and heirs. Since the new Congress has been in session this year, they’ve tried their hardest to create certainty with the “death tax”. At least 5 new bills have been introduced in the House this year, to eliminate the estate tax all together. Three of them being, the “Fair and Simple Tax Act of 2011”; the “Permanently Repeal the Estate Tax Act of 2011” and the “End Tax Uncertainty Act of 2011”.