2004 Year End Tax Move: Itemized Deductions
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itemizing your deductions for 2004 or taking the standard deduction.
This is especially true for couples who thought they may have a
"marriage penalty" of a lower standard deduction. The marriage penalty
law was extended to give married couples a larger standard deduction in
2004 and 2005.
If you know that you'll be itemizing for this year's taxes, you may
want to try and pay as many deductible expenses as you can before the
end of the year. You can pay some 2005 bills such as your January
mortgage payment and any real estate taxes due in January before the
end of December. This will allow you to add these to your itemized
deductions in 2004 and thus maximize them.
In addition, you may decide to make some extra charitable contributions
before December 31. It may be wise to also do a house cleaning and
donate any items you no longer need to your local Good Will or
Salvation Army. If you'll be taking the standard deduction this year,
then holding off on these payments until the beginning of 2005 makes
sense.
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Donating Items For Tax Breaks:
http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1492