The standard deduction reduces the amount of taxable income and is very easy to claim. In recent times, the standard deductions for all filing statuses have doubled. And for the current tax year, the standard deduction is worth $12,000 for single taxpayers, $24,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly, and $18,000 if filing as the head of a household. The standard rate, however, gets smaller if someone else claims you as a dependent.

Taxpayers who take the standard deductions will not be able to take other tax deductions like the medical expenses, mortgage interest, and donations to charity. As a result, it is better to look into itemizing your returns to see if you can claim a larger deduction. If itemizing leads to a higher deduction amount then it should be the way to go. But if the difference is not significant, then going for the standard deduction will be a smarter move as it will save you a lot of time and effort. Also, you will be less likely to get audited.

American Tax Service recommends using the H&R Block online tax software to itemize deductions. By answering a couple of questions, the software will be able to identify what type of tax credits will give the biggest tax refund. So, whether you take the standard deductions or itemized deductions, you are sure you have made the right choice.

For more information about the standard deductions, please visit, https://americantaxservice.org/what-is-the-standard-deduction

About Frank Ellis
Frank Ellis is a Traverse City Tax Preparation Planner and published author. He has written tax and finance related articles for eight years and has published over 900 articles on leading financial websites.

Contact Information
Frank Ellis
American Tax Service
945 East 8th Street Suite A
Traverse City, Michigan 49686
Email: webmaster@americantaxservice.org
Website: http://americantaxservice.org

The post The Standard Deduction and When You Should Take Advantage of it appeared first on 12 Press Release.

To claim the EITC, taxpayers must first earn some form of income. The earned income must be either equal to or below $54,884 for the tax filing season they are applying for. They must also file a federal tax return regardless of whether they pay any taxes or not. Taxpayers do not need to have a qualifying child or dependent to claim the EITC.

Taxpayers who qualify to claim the EITC can do so either as a single taxpayer or married but filing jointly. When claiming the EITC, anyone mentioned as a dependent or qualifying child must have a separate social security number and this must be stated. And each qualifying child can only be claimed on a single Federal tax return per year.

There are free tax filing services available to people who would like to claim the Earned Income Credit. Efile Tax Advisor recommends using The TurboTax Free File feature as it is easy to use. It will only ask some basic questions like the total earned income, number of children or dependents and a few lifestyle questions. The site also recommends using any of the IRS volunteer programs across the country as they also offer free tax help.

For more information about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), please read the original blog post by Efile Tax Advisor here, https://efiletaxadvisor.com/2019/04/15/how-the-eitc-supports-low-and-middle-income-americans/

About Frank Ellis
Frank Ellis is a Traverse City Tax Preparation Planner and published author. He has written tax and finance related articles for eight years and has published over 900 articles on leading financial websites.

Contact Information
Frank Ellis
Efile Tax Advisor
945 East 8th Street Suite A
Traverse City, Michigan 49686
Email: efiletaxadvisor@gmail.com
Website: https://efiletaxadvisor.com

The post The Earned Income Credit 2019, 2020 – Valuable Tax Credit for Americans appeared first on 12 Press Release.