In misc.taxes.moderated, JoeTaxpayer wrote:

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I would probably have been one of them, were it not for reading MTM.
I have alerted friends.

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DF2 wrote:

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I just finished the forms for my 80+ yr old. I used TurboTax and saw the
same thing. I pulled up a schedule A to enter the real estate tax, and
it flowed to the standard deduction worksheet, properly giveing her the
extra $500 deduction, but the Schedule A promptly evaporated. It did
maintain the Sch A Tax and interest (keep for records) worksheet, but
that was it.

I bet this is one that many non-itemizers will miss.
Joe

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In misc.taxes.moderated, Arthur Kamlet wrote:

- quote -

I was surprised that there was no supporting form -- schedule A or
otherwise-- printed out by my tax program supporting the increased
line 40 "Itemized deductions (from Schedule A) or your standard
deduction (see left margin)" on form 1040.

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In article <3Zudnf7-O4YiUFvUnZ2dnUVZ_guWnZ2d[at]earthlink.com> ,
CWLee <cdubyalee[at]post.harvard.edu> wrote:
- quote -


The right answer is 5950 unless filing status is MFJ.
So re-read the line-by-line instruictions on that worksheet.
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ArtKamlet at a o l dot c o m Columbus OH K2PZH

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Pages 34 and 35 of the 1040 instructions for 2008 IRS
returns speak of the standard deduction being increased,
under certain circumstances, due to real estate taxes.

My standard deduction would be $5,450, if I paid no real
estate taxes. As I work through the worksheet on page 35,
with no earned income, born before 1.2.1944, filing
separately, and having paid real estate taxes of $2,000, I
find that my standard deduction becomes $2,450.

It doesn't seem logical to me that my standard deduction
goes down just because I paid some real estate taxes - so I
think I'm not doing something correctly here.

Any enlightenment appreciated.

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CWLee
Former slayer of dragons; practice now limited to sacred
cows. Believing we should hire for quality, not quotas, and
promote for performance, not preferences.

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<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >