Top Ten Tax Breaks
February 22 by Craig Childs | Money, Uncategorized
Tax time, does anyone look forward to it? Maybe you would if you knew about all the tax breaks you can catch. CNNMoney ran down ten goodies you shouldn’t miss out on, including a few that are brand spanking new!
You can take a 30 percent credit up to $2,000 for the cost of solar water heating or photovoltaic equipment in your home. You can get a 10 percent credit up to $500 for insulation and heat-reducing metal roofs, and up to $200 for energy-efficient windows. Labor costs, though, don’t count.
Among the miscellaneous deductions you may be eligible to take:
- Travel costs for job interviews: If you interview for a job in your field, you may deduct the costs of transportation, food and lodging.
- Phone use: You may deduct business calls made on a personal cell phone and work-related long-distance calls made on your home phone.
- Subscriptions for work-related publications
- Dues for professional association memberships
10 don’t-miss tax breaks – [CNNMoney]
Well, if that was enough to raise your spirits, let me be the one to remind you, as the CNNMoney article points out: After taking this threshold into account, these miscellaneous deductions, taken on your Schedule A of the return, are rarely worth the effort.
But, I’m sure you won’t be surprised, that our friendly elected representatives in Washington don’t have this type of concern around tax time. No siree! They just spend down their campaign funds—money accumulated from contributions by you and me, held in a campaign fund account from the last election:
“The Politicians can use campaign money to purchase flowers and candy, lease cars, buy gas and pay for car phones. It can be used for airfare, hotel rooms, rental cars, dinners and liquor for officeholders, their spouses and staff members at workrelated conventions and seminars.”
Not to mention tickets to sporting events, car washes, and embroider shirts with the campaign logo! See http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1Y1-103387752.html (The Columbus Dispatch, 2/18/2007).
Happy tax day!