Posts tagged tax credits

The 2010 Tax Relief Act – An Overview

After much speculation and anticipation, Congress finally passed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the Act).  The President signed it into law on December 17. The Act, in essence, is an extension of the 2001/2003 Bush-era tax cuts for two years. Also, the Act provides a payroll tax holiday for 2011 and a change in the exemption amount and maximum tax rate for estate taxation. The Act extends and modifies many of the provisions first enacted in the 2009 American Recovery and Relief Act. Finally, the Act incorporates many individual extensions of the so-called annual extenders. The following is a list of individual provisions that will certainly affect your tax liability for 2011, 2012, and possibly 2010, as well. More >

Sales Tax Deduction for New Vehicles

Buyers of new vehicles can deduct the sales tax paid on the purchase, even if they don’t claim sales taxes as itemized deductions. They can add the tax they pay to their standard deduction. This break applies to new cars, motor homes, light trucks and motorcycles purchased after February 16, 2009 and before January 1, 2010. Sales tax paid on the first $49,500 of cost qualifies. The benefit begins phasing out for married couples with AGIs over $250,000 and singles with adjusted gross incomes over $125,000, and is completely gone for single filers with adjusted gross income of $135,000 or more or joint filers with AGI of at least $260,000.

Itemizers who elect to deduct state sales taxes in lieu of state income taxes get no benefit from this change because the auto sales tax is already included in the sales tax deduction. Itemizers who deduct state income taxes will get a separate deduction for auto sales taxes; non-itemizers will add the sales tax amount to their standard deduction amount.