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IRS Form 1040 Schedule A Itemized Deductions
What Is IRS Form 1040 Schedule A?
IRS Form 1040 Schedule A, Itemized Deductions, is the document you use to calculate the amount of your itemized deductions. The form belongs to the IRS 1040 series used to calculate and submit different types of federal individual income tax returns. The schedule - also known as the IRS itemized deductions form - was issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and is revised annually. Download the fillable schedule through the link below{class="scroll_to"}.
Usually, you will need to pay less federal income taxes if you take your standard deductions or the larger of the itemized deductions. This form allows you to deduct some medical and dental expenses. You can also use it to deduct certain contributions, taxes, interest, casualty and theft losses, and others. If you and your spouse own property jointly and jointly paid certain expenses (e.g., home mortgage or investment interests) but are filing separate returns, look through the IRS Publication 504 to determine what joint expenses you can claim on this form. Find additional detailed information about the calculation of the itemized deductions in the official IRS-issued Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040).
IRS Form 1040 Schedule A Instructions
Fill out the form as follows:
- Medical and Dental Expenses. Lines 1 - 4. Use these lines to deduct a part of your medical and dental expenses. This part should not exceed 7.5% of the amount you have indicated in Line 7 of the IRS Form 1040 as your adjusted gross income;
- Taxes You Paid. Lines 5 - 7. Deduct here the taxes you have paid, except for customs duties, Medicare, federal unemployment, Social Security, railroad retirement, federal income and most excise taxes, some state and local taxes (like car inspections fees, license fees, tax on gasoline, and others), federal state and gift taxes (except for income received in respect of a decedent), and foreign personal or real property taxes;
- Interest You Paid. Lines 8 - 10. Use this part deduct the interest you paid. The rules for deducting interest depend on the purpose of the loan, i.e., whether it was used for personal, investment, or business activities. It is not allowed to deduct personal interest. However, the homeowners can deduct (Tax Deductions for Homeowners) their home mortgage interest on this Schedule;
- Gifts to Charity. Lines 11 - 14. Deduct the gifts or contributions you gave to charitable, religious, scientific, or literary organizations, as well as to the organizations that aim to prevent cruelty to children or animals. Verify if the organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions using the IRS website;
- Casualty and Theft Losses. Line 15. Use IRS Form 4684, Casualties and Thefts to calculate the amount of your loss. Enter here the amount from Line 18 (Form 4684);
- Other Itemized Deductions. Line 16. Check the IRS-issued instructions for the full list of additional itemized deductions you can report on this line;
- Total Itemized Deductions. Line 17 - 18. Self-explanatory.
File the completed Schedule A attached to your main IRS Form 1040.
