Millions of Americans receive refunds each year, and most make claims and deductions in an attempt to get the largest refund possible from the IRS.
Deductions will exempt part of your income from being taxed.
What ends up happening is your taxable income is lowered, so getting more deductions is ideal.
IRS: Two things that will help you get your tax refund faster
Here are 5 deductions you may be able to claim to lower your taxable income with the IRS
Medical
Medical expenses are deductible.
According to The Sun, an average American spends as much as $12,530 on medical expenses every year.
You may claim 7.5% of your unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your AGI in a year.
Included in medical expenses are payments for
- doctors
- dentists
- surgeons
- chiropractors
- psychiatrists
- psychologists
- nontraditional medical practitioners
- residential nursing home care
IRS: Still waiting for a 2020 tax refund?
Educator expenses
Teachers end up spending a lot of their own money on their classrooms.
The average amount spent each year is around $750.
Educators have the choice to deduct up to $250 for classroom expenses, and while it may not cover it all, they should still claim it.
Self Employment
There is a tax deduction for self employment.
This lets people who own their business to deduct half of their Social Security and Medicare tax bill.
Business owners have to pay 15.3% in taxes, compared to those who work for an employer and pay half of that.
IRS: Where’s My Refund and IRS2Go App explained
Donations
When you donate money or items to charity, you may be able to deduct that from your taxes.
You must keep track of items you donate so you claim the fair market value on the items.
This means if something you donated was used, you can claim the cost of what it’s used price would be, not its new price.
Home equity loans
You may be able to claim home equity interest deduction on your taxes if you used it for home improvement.
If you took out the loan you may deduct the interest on your 2021 tax return.
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