Schedule A – Itemized Deductions Tax Form
Contents
The IRS Schedule A, Itemized Deductions, is the tax form used for itemizing deductions. If you have deductible expenses, itemizing may be a more favorable option than the standard deduction. Write off these expenses using Schedule A and determine your total itemized deductions.
In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about Schedule A, itemized deductions, and answer commonly asked questions about both.
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Start filling out Schedule A below and print out a paper copy once you complete it. If it’s your first time filling out a tax form using the TaxUni PDF Filler, make sure to watch this video before explaining how to navigate through every document listed on our website easily.
What is Schedule A?
Schedule A is the tax form you fill out and attach to your federal income tax return to itemize deductions. To better understand what this means, we first need to look at what itemizing deductions mean.
Itemized deduction differences with the standard deduction
The standard deduction is a – well – standard deduction. It’s available to every taxpayer regardless of their income with the same amount. The only difference between “different” standard deductions is that they change your filing status. For example, for the 2024 tax year, the standard deduction is $12,550 for single filers and $18,800 for heads of households, while joint filers get double what single filers get.
These figures aren’t subject to a change regardless of your income, so they don’t phase out after a certain amount.
On the other hand, itemized deductions are only there for certain expenses. A great example of this is the mortgage interest paid during the tax year. You can deduct up to $375,000 in mortgage interest payments as a single filer. Assume you’ve paid $10,000 during the tax year in mortgage interest, and this alone gets you close to the standard deduction amount of a single filer.
There are many deductible expenses like this that you can write off on Schedule A. Some of these itemized deductions are for unreimbursed out-of-pocket medical expenses, state and local taxes paid, casualty and theft losses, long-term care premiums, to name a few.
These differences make the standard deduction and itemized deductions utterly different from each other. Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 have nearly doubled the standard deduction amount, most taxpayers choose it over itemizing. Nonetheless, it’s best to calculate your itemized deductions just in case and see if they give you a higher amount to write off.
FAQs
Should I itemize or take the standard deduction?
The answer to whether you should itemize or take the standard deduction varies by the taxpayer. If your itemized deductions are larger than the standard deduction you can claim for your filing status, it’s best to itemize as it will reduce your taxable income more. If less, the other way around is a more favorable outcome. Calculate your itemized deductions anyway, even if you don’t have hope for your itemized deductions exceeding the standard deduction you get for the tax year.
Who needs to file Schedule A?
Taxpayers that anticipate itemizing their deductions should file Schedule A. It’s not a must for every taxpayer as there is the option to claim the standard deduction instead, but if you want to itemize, you must fill out Schedule A and attach it to your federal income tax return.
Can I make adjustments to income using Schedule 1 and itemize deductions?
Schedule A, Itemized Deductions, and Schedule 1 are two different tax forms. Just like you can make adjustments to your income when taking the standard deduction, you can do so when itemizing deductions. The above-the-line deductions (adjustments) have nothing to do with your deductions, as they are an entirely different thing.
What is the deduction for medical expenses?
There isn’t a set amount for the medical expenses you can write off on Schedule A. You can deduct qualified medical expenses that are over 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. For example, let’s say your AGI is $30,000, and you had $5,000 in unreimbursed medical expenses. In that case, you can claim a $2,750 deduction in medical expenses. The formula for this example is as follows. 7.5 percent of $30,000 is $2,250 and $5,000 minus $2,250 equals $2,750.
