The 2020 credit is reduced if your modified adjusted gross income is between $80,000 but less than $90,000 for a single filer and $160,000 but less than $180,000 if married filing jointly. Qualifying expenses include tuition, fee payments and required books or supplies for post-secondary education for yourself, spouse or dependent child. “For students who are in the first four years of college, this credit could provide greater tax savings than the Lifetime Learning Credit.” “If you, your spouse, or child are in school, make sure to look deeper into education credits,” says Daniel Fan, managing director, head of wealth planning at First Foundation Advisors, an Irvine, California-based financial institution. The credit is worth 100% of the first $2,000 of qualified education expenses paid for each eligible student and 25% of the next $2,000 of qualified education expenses. If the amount of taxes you owe is zero because of this credit, the IRS says 40% of any remaining amount of the credit (a maximum of $1,000) can be refunded to you. The maximum annual credit is $2,500 for each eligible student. The American Opportunity Tax Credit gives tax credits for the first four years of higher education. American Opportunity Tax Education Credit Note: This credit can’t be claimed in the same year as the American Opportunity Tax Credit if the expenses are claimed as the Lifetime Learning Credit. The IRS has yet to announce the thresholds for the 2021 tax year. The credit is not available once your income exceeds certain amounts ($69,000 for single, $138,000 for married, filing jointly). The 2020 credit amount begins to decrease if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is over a certain threshold ($59,000 if single or $118,000 if married, filing jointly). The credit is not refundable, which means the credit can be used to pay any taxes you owe, but you can’t receive any of it as a refund. The expenses can include tuition, fee payments and required books or supplies for post-secondary education for yourself, spouse or dependent child. The credit allows for a dollar-for-dollar reduction on the amount of taxes owed. However, the maximum you can receive as a credit is $2,000 per tax return. The maximum amount of expenses you can deduct is up to $10,000 for an unlimited number of years. The Lifetime Learning Credit allows people to take credits for taking classes at a community college, university or other higher education institutions. Lifetime Learning Credit Education Credits The expenses must have been paid in 2021, unless they were charged to a credit card (in which case you can deduct the expense in the year you charged the card, and not necessarily the year in which you repaid it). If you file Form 1040, you can only deduct the amount of your medical and dental expenses that are more than 7.5% of your AGI. Donations of items or property are also considered charitable contributions.įor 2021, the CARES Act allows people who donated money to qualifying charitable organizations to take a deduction of up to $300 (up to $600 for married filing joint taxpayers)-even if you don’t itemize for the year.įor 2021, you can deduct 16 cents a mile for medical purposes such as driving to doctors’ or hospital appointments.
Generally, you can deduct charitable contributions of cash of up to 60% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). You can deduct mortgage insurance premiums, mortgage interest, and real estate taxes that you paid during the year for your home. You can deduct state income taxes that are paid, but it is limited to up to $10,000, which includes all deductible state and local taxes.
If you have a mortgage bigger than $750,000-say, $900,000- any interest you pay on the $150,000 above the $750,000 threshold isn’t deductible. The interest you pay for your mortgage can be deducted and is limited to interest on $750,000 of your mortgage or less ($375,000 for married filing separate taxpayers) of mortgage debt incurred after Dec. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), all state and local income taxes (SALT), including property taxes, are limited to $10,000 in deductions.