Itemizing the tax return V/s Standard Deduction

There are two Great Ways to deduct your expense on your federal tax return. Based on the new tax law, the easy and simple way is standard deduction. If you are single you can deduct $12,000.  if married you can deduct $24,000 if head if the household you can deduct $18,000

There is a limit of $10,000 for the State, Local and Real Estate tax to deduct on the Schedule A (the total of State, Local and Real Estate tax is sealed to $10,000)

For example, if you are single and own a home with mortgage of $300,000 @ 4% interest should itemize. Mortgage interest on the home itself is $12,000 and when we add the state and real estate tax (Maximum we can claim is $10,000) the total itemized deduction is $22,000 plus other deductions such as Donations, Medical Expense etc.

Qualified Medical Expense have a Floor of 10% for adjusted Gross income (starting from 2019) and your Adjusted Gross income is $75,000, first 7500 is a floor and any thing above will add to the standard deduction.

No Double benefit allowed: If you paid the medical expense by your Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible spending Arrangements you can’t claim the same expense on Schedule A.