Accelerating your property tax deduction to reduce your 2016 tax bill
Smart timing of deductible expenses can reduce your tax liability, and poor timing can unnecessarily increase it.
Smart timing of deductible expenses can reduce your tax liability, and poor timing can unnecessarily increase it.
Saving for retirement can be tough if you’re putting most of your money and time into operating a small business
…miscellaneous itemized deductions, that is.
Many expenses that may qualify as miscellaneous itemized deductions are deductible only to the extent they exceed, in aggregate, 2% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). Bunching these expenses into a single year may allow you to exceed this “floor.” So now is a good time to add up your potential deductions to date to see if bunching is a smart strategy for you this year.
Should you bunch into 2016?
If your miscellaneous itemized deductions are getting close to — or they already exceed — the 2% floor, consider incurring and paying additional expenses by Dec. 31, such as:
But beware …
These expenses aren’t deductible for alternative minimum tax (AMT) purposes. So don’t bunch them into 2016 if you might be subject to the AMT this year.
Also, if your AGI exceeds the applicable threshold, certain deductions — including miscellaneous itemized deductions — are reduced by 3% of the AGI amount that exceeds the threshold (not to exceed 80% of otherwise allowable deductions). For 2016, the thresholds are $259,400 (single), $285,350 (head of household), $311,300 (married filing jointly) and $155,650 (married filing separately).
If you’d like more information on miscellaneous itemized deductions, the AMT, or the itemized deduction limit, let us know.
© 2016 Thomson Reuters