Find Out Which Tax Deductions Could Apply To Your 2017 Return - BusinessBlog : McGraw-Hill
Home
/
Find Out Which Tax Deductions Could Apply To Your 2017 Return
Featured Finance & Investing

Find Out Which Tax Deductions Could Apply To Your 2017 Return

Did You File Early?

Tax expert Eva Rosenberg explains which deductions and credits are still available for your 2017 tax return so you can choose to amend it and take advantage of the tax breaks.

You may want to amend your return!

As you all know, we received a massive new tax plan at the end of 2017 – the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). While there were a great many beneficial and not-so-beneficial changes to our tax lives, the TCJA didn’t make any reference at all to several tax breaks that expired on or before December 31, 2016.

As a result, there were many deductions and credits that you were able to take on last year’s tax return (2016), that expired on December 31, 2016. Several tax forms for 2017, including the Form 1041, have certain lines that say “reserved for future use.”

Well, I have great news for those of you. The Bi-Partisan Budget Act of 2018 was signed by President Trump on Friday, February 9, 2018. It contained a one-year extension (just for 2017) for many tax breaks.

If you were one of over 18 million taxpayers who already filed before then, you just might want file a corrected return to take advantage of some of the tax breaks you may have missed. There are two ways to file this corrected return. One is by filing a “superceded” tax return before April 17th. The other is to file an amended tax return – anytime within 3 years after April 17th. Ask your tax professional or tax software company to help you with this process. Expect to pay for the assistance. Apparently, according an article in Forbes.com by Kelly Phillips Erb, I was the only tax professional in the country who predicted that these extenders would pass – and to be effective, retroactively, for 2017.

Here are the tax deductions and credits that have been renewed – mostly, through 12/31/17.

  1. Exclusion from Gross Income of Discharge of Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness.
  2. Mortgage Insurance Premiums Treated as Qualified Residence Interest.
  3. Above-The-Line Deduction for Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses.
  4. Classification of Certain Race Horses as 3-Year Property.
  5. Immediate Expensing of Certain Qualified Film and Television and Live Theatrical Productions.
  6. Empowerment Zone Tax Incentives.
  7. $500 Lifetime Credit for Nonbusiness Energy Property.
  8. 30% Credit for Residential Energy Property – on geothermal, or wind energy power units and power cells. The credit was still good for qualified solar electric and water heating properties – but now, all the previous types of energy properties qualify again. (This was renewed through 12/31/2021)
  9. Credit for New Qualified Fuel Cell Motor Vehicles.
  10. Credit for 2-Wheeled Plug-In Electric Vehicles.

Known as TaxMama®, Eva Rosenberg’s frankness, sense of humor and casual, chatty delivery makes her a welcome talk show guest and speaker around the country. An Enrolled Agent, licensed by the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department, Eva is the publisher of TaxMama.com, and the author of Ask TaxMama® and Small Business Taxes Made Easy. Her TaxQuips podcasts also keep people entertained and informed.

Eva Rosenberg

Known as TaxMama®, Eva Rosenberg’s frankness, sense of humor and casual, chatty delivery makes her a welcome talk show guest and speaker around the country. An Enrolled Agent, licensed by the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department, Eva is the publisher of TaxMama.com, and the author of Ask TaxMama® on her website. Her TaxQuips podcasts also keep people entertained and informed.