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Jayjay10
Jan 21, 2010, 01:17 PM
Can someone give a list of everything that you can claim. Like can you claim groceries, gas, cloths, etc.. Because I was told to save every recite that I had to pay taxes on and I could claim them. Thank you so much if you answer this for me. Thanks again.

AtlantaTaxExpert
Jan 21, 2010, 01:22 PM
You have GOT to be kidding!

Noted tax experts have written 1,000-page books on what people can and cannot deduct on their tax returns, and you want us to give you a list of "everything you can claim"??

ScottGem
Jan 22, 2010, 05:07 AM
First its not a good idea to piggyback your question on someone else's. This can lead to confusion. You should start a new thread. So I've moved your question to its own thread.

Also, you should not put your e-mail on a public post. We reply to yhe post not via e-mail.

As your 1st reply said, there are lots of books just devoted to deductions. If you use one of the tax software program or a tax preparer they will tell you.

ebaines
Jan 22, 2010, 08:21 AM
Jayjay10: you indicated that you are saving all receipts. I am going to assume first that you are not filing as a business, but an an individual with "normal" income sources of salary, interest, dividends, etc, and not business income. If that's correct, then you can not deduct your normal living expenses such as for groceries, gas, clothes, etc. The only reason to save all receipts is to determine how much sales tax you paid during the year, and then deduct it. But keep in mind that you are allowed to deduct either sales taxes or state/local income taxes, but not both - so this may very well be a waste of time for you. Also, you could just take the "standard" sales tax deduction, in which case you don't need receipts at all. One final note - if you bought a new vehicle you can add the sales tax you paid on top of the sandard amount- so yes, save your receipt for that new vehicle.

As for a list of all deductions - as the others said you won't get that here. But I would recommend that you buy a copy of J.K. Laser's "Your Income Tax" - it does a very comprehensive job of describing ho to do your taxes, including a long list of what's deductible. It's about $12 from Amazon.com, and that cost IS deductible.