Ah, the itemized deductions – everyone wants them, but few need them. What are they? Individual records of certain tax-deductible actions you’ve committed over the previous year. The reasoning is simple: unless you’ve made large charitable gifts, paid large uninsured medical costs, paid tax/interest on your home, suffered large theft costs, or have large employee reimbursements, this is not for you. Plus, if you did not plan to itemize, you really cannot catch up.

To figure out if itemizing is worth it, the value of the entire itemizing form, Schedule A (broken down by News Genius!) must be larger than the Standard Deduction ($5,950 for an individual). Like all good things mixed with the IRS, there are strict limits.

If you are some combination of blind or over 65, read up here on what to do.

For dependents, the shiny worksheet breaks down the final value you can write in. If you did not itemize your deductions and can be claimed as a dependent, you must use the worksheet. Keep in mind that, even if you are not claimed by anybody, you must still fill out the worksheet if you could be claimed.

Find yourself unmarried, caring for a child who may or may not be your dependent, and paying for more than half of your home’s upkeep and support? You’re in luck – the IRS cares.

If you file for “Head of Household” status, you are eligible for lower taxes. Meeting the qualifications is easy, but remember to check who qualifies as a dependent! The “child” part does not matter here, only that you directly care for said child.

IRAs are a pain: the long-term retirement plans dodge a lot of tax, but bring their own set of painful codes. Read up on what qualifies.

Here is the generalized answer: everything can be found on box 1 of Form 1099-R, which your IRA holder should send you. After this, everything gets complicated. Either buckle up and learn everything about how IRAs work or hire a pro. Again, the penalties make it work the up-front costs.

Pay attention to the key word:

“received”

This ain’t the place to talk about what you paid – that’s later on.

Alimony is income and must count next to your wages. Child support is not. Failing to add in the alimony will be a guaranteed audit – do not risk it.

If at any point in the tax year you filed for unemployment benefits and received said benefits, here’s where they go. The exact details of long-term unemployment money, lasting over two tax years, is more dicey. At this point, you should invest in a tax professional to correctly determine your status and forms.

Note that, if you and your spouse are filing jointly, you must also include any unemployment that your spouse collected.

The “Third Party Designee” gives someone else, the person you pick, the ability to ask the IRS about the processing, not the content, of your return. This can be useful if you are unable to do so yourself or plan to not be around after filing your return.

Actually, actually do it. The dependent determination, thanks the the incredible tax breaks offered to the person who claims you, is one of the biggest causes of IRS audits. You do not want an audit, but if/when it does happen, you want to have your paperwork on hand. Most recommend keeping 5 years of taxed documents in a nice folder in case this happens. Most are not cautious enough.

Reality?

Keep them all!