Disappearing Deductions

A number of tax benefits either expire or are reduced after December 31, 2013.  Don’t lose an opportunity to reduce your 2013 taxes by taking your last-chance advantage of these deductions:

Some of the Expiring Deductions Include:

•    K-12 Teacher $250 deduction for purchase of school supplies for classroom.
•    Deduction of qualified mortgage insurance premiums
•    $500 credit for qualified home energy improvements to principal residence
•    Election to deduct state and local general sales tax instead of income tax (Schedule A Deduction)
•    Qualified tuition and fees deduction
•    Qualified Charitable Donations – tax-free transfers from an IRA directly to a charity does not count toward required minimum distribution, but does not qualify as a charitable contribution
•    Off-the-shelf computer software qualification for Section 179 treatment
•    Section 179 treatment up to $250K for qualified leasehold/retail improvements
•    50% Special Depreciation allowance for qualified vehicles
•    374(d)(7) S corp built-in gains provision

Other deductions are reduced, limited, or “rolled back” to previous levels:

•    Extended benefits for qualified conservation easement contributions (50% of AGI/15 year carry-forward rolls back to 30% and 5 year carry-forward)
•    Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) 100% gain exclusion rolls back to 50% gain exclusion
•    Qualified leasehold improvements and retail improvements 15-year recovery period rolls back to a 39-year recovery period
•    Section 179 qualifying property limits of $500K per item and $2M total rolls back to $25K per item and $200K total
•    Sec. 1367(a)(2) S corp shareholder basis adjustment for charitable contributions provision

This is not an exclusive list!  If you have been taking other credits or deductions, please check with your tax preparer to see if you might be losing deductions for next year.

For more information, check out: the following articles:

WSJ Online: Consumer Finance: Some Tax Deductions are Disappearing
Tax Pro Today: Disappearing Tax Deductions

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