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Posted by  JanetK_CA on 2/6/19 2:13pm
Everyone's situation is different and from what I can tell so far, it all comes down to how much in itemized deductions a person can claim under new rules.
For example, do you own a home? Do you pay a lot in property taxes or home loan interest? (There are now limits on how much of those expenses can be deducted, where we used to be able to deduct ALL of it.) Do you have dependents? What other deductions can you claim? Even the number of miles driven in a year could make a difference. [BTW, we should be prepared to re-evaluate the decision to itemize vs. take the standard deduction over the next few years. I don't have details, but the so-called 'middle class' tax cuts are temporary.]
With business having slowed (or changed) for many of us in the past year, resulting in fewer miles driven, less paper purchased, etc., the standard deduction may actually prove a better deal than itemizing. However, it may be smart to still do the calculations both ways to be sure, which I plan to do. I've been in my home for a long time, so I'm not paying much in interest or property taxes anymore, so I think it may be close for me. (I'm also now debating whether or not to finally go the Turbo Tax route vs. paying an accountant. It's possible that the cost for the latter may make the difference in whether or not it's worth it to itemize.)
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