Most taxpayers do claim their exemptions, and according to the IRS, $842 billion was claimed from personal exemptions in 2005. But there are many other tax credits available that may be overlooked.

“Do I choose to take the standard deduction or itemize?” That’s an important question many taxpayers will need to ask themselves prior to filing their tax return. In 2007, the standard deduction was $5,350 for single, $7,850 for head of household, and $10,700 for married or filing jointly.

However, in 2002, only one-third of taxpayers who filed their returns chose to itemize their deductions, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The decision not to itemize turned out to be an on average loss of $438 per taxpayer, or in overall terms – $945 million.

Procrastination is the most common reason for not itemizing. Taxpayers are notorious for waiting until the very last possible hour to file their taxes. This overwhelming rush to complete their tax filing has many taxpayers losing out on the additional tax breaks that may be available to them by itemizing. Taking the time to collect tax records and the information needed for itemized deductions is well worth the time and effort.

For most taxpayers, electing to take the standard deduction or itemizing deductions can be fairly simple. Add up your real estate taxes, income taxes (state and local), and whatever mortgage interest you’ve paid. Now, compare this total against the standard deduction. If you are over 65, don’t forget that you can add an additional $1,050 if you’re married and $1,300 if you are filing single, to your standard deduction.

Many taxpayers make the mistake of not filing an itemized return, thinking that because they don’t own a home it won’t provide any significant tax break by itemizing. However, if you have had substantial medical bills, paid trustee or investment advice fees, made large donations to charity, paid substantial state sales or income tax, or had other substantial qualifying expenses, you may be pleasantly surprised to find your tax deductions work out to be far greater when itemizing than by using the standard deduction.

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Deductions are expenses the IRS allows you to subtract from your taxable income, lowering your overall tax bill. There are two ways to file deductions – using the standard deduction, and “itemizing.”

Standard Deductions

Every taxpayer is allowed to take a standard deduction. The standard deduction assumes you have an “average” amount of tax-deductible expenses, and lumps them into one easy sum based on your circumstances. For 2007, the standard deduction amounts are:

• $850, or all earned income plus $300 (whichever is greater), for dependents (someone who is claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return)
• $5,350 for single (unmarried) individuals and those married filing separately
• $7,850 for a head of household (unmarried individual with at least one dependent and currently paying over half the cost of maintaining a home)
• $10,700 for those married filing jointly and qualifying “surviving spouses” (widows and widowers).

In addition to the regular standard deduction, there is an additional standard deduction for those who are 65 or older or blind. For 2007, this additional deduction is $1,300 for unmarried, unwidowed individuals and $1,050 for those who are married or widowed. This additional deduction is added to your regular standard deduction. For example, if you were 68, single, and not blind in 2007, your standard deduction would be $5,350 for being single plus $1,300 for being over 65, for a total of $6,650.

Itemized Deductions

But what if you had more tax-deductible expenses than the standard deduction covers? The other option, in that case, is to list all of your deductions separately. This is called “itemizing,” and can save you hundreds to thousands of dollars more than the standard deduction.

Deductions you can itemize include:

• Charitable donations
• Medical costs
• Interest payments
• Investment losses
• Gambling losses
• Certain legal fees
• Property lost to theft
• Casualty losses
• Expenses for your employer or business that were not reimbursed
• Estate tax payments
• Other taxes

However, if you choose to itemize deductions rather than claim the standard deduction, you are not allowed to claim any additional deductions for being 65 or older or blind.

Difference Between Standard Deduction and Itemized Deductions?

In general, you should claim whichever of the two deduction methods saves you the most money. If your itemized deductions are greater than the standard deduction, you should probably itemize. If the standard deduction is greater, claim the standard deduction.

There are, however, a couple of caveats to this rule. The first is that if a married couple is filing separately and one spouse itemizes deductions, the other spouse must also itemize deductions. Whatever one spouse does, the other must follow suit. So make sure to choose the route that works best for both spouses.

Second, if you are subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT), you might save more by itemizing rather than taking the standard deduction, even if your itemized deductions are less than the standard deduction. The reason for this is that the standard deduction doesn’t reduce income subject to the AMT, while certain itemized deductions can.

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