Deductions such as medical expenses, charitable
contributions, mortgage interest, property taxes, state and local income or
sales taxes and others are what is known as “itemized deductions”. You can see a more complete list of all these
deductions, at least the most common, by looking at Schedule A of Form
1040. They are used to reduce your
taxable income. The total of all your
itemized deductions must exceed your standard deduction to be of any tax benefit. Anyone filing a Federal income tax return
(other than children under the age of 24 with unearned income) is entitled to
the standard deduction. The standard
deduction for 2016 is $6,300 Single and $12,600 Married Filing Jointly.