Sales Tax Deduction

[Chief]

I wish to point out a word of cautionin computing the sales tax deduction. In addition to the federal agi (Form 1040, line 38) there are other items to add to the available income for both state and local sales tax rates. Do not depend on your software to compute this correctly or to compute the correct amounts.
For example, include the following in the total available income:
1. Tax-exempt interest
2. Vouchers under the cars for clunkers program\
3. Veterans benefits
4. Nontaxable combat pay
5. Workers compensation
6. Nontaxable unemployment compensation
7. Nontaxable SS and RR benefits
8. Nontaxable part ofIRA, pension or annuity distributions (not including rollovers)
9. Public assistance payments
10. Economic recovery payments

The software you use may include some of these and may not. It's your responsbility to check and get the maximum credit foryour client.

[Snaggletooth]

Good Advice

Billy O, excellent advice. Some of the items may not even be input to the software, and I would also add other people living in your home who are not dependents.

I always manually calculate this deduction.

[Chief]

Hello Snag

Good to hear from you again. Been to any good bluegrass concerts lately? Also how did your transition to Drake go this year?

[FEDUKE404]

Scratching for more tax

Except for perhaps #2, #3, #9, and #10 most good software will automatically pick up the other numbers.

Having endured the days when everyone used the sales tax tables, these questions more or less come to mind automatically.

For most people (except those in the non-income tax states) it's hardly worth the effort.

I have found there is much more fertile ground to plow, for those actually using the tables, to be certain that you adjust the "tables" for the appropriate local taxes which raise the amounts for everything!

FE

[Snaggletooth]

My friend Chief

Good to hear from you again. Been to any good bluegrass concerts lately? Also how did your transition to Drake go this year?

After April 15, bluegrass attendance becomes necessary and abundant. Drake went well, but I wish there were a "forms-based" software on the market instead of questionnaire screens reminiscent of DOS. All in all, Drake did perform very well. I loved the support at TaxSlayer, but I needed something more robust for several state returns I had to file.

Hope you are doing well - Ron J.

[AJsTax]

sometimes when I get stuck on finding something I need in Drake I will switch to the form-based entry screen. I don't stay there long, just enough to fill in one or two things that I have not figured out yet. But it is available.

[Snaggletooth]

1040 only

AJ, I've noticed they have a "forms-based" roadmap, but for the 1040 only. You can't find out what's populating any of the other forms. If you find any Drake forms-based menu for something other than the 1040, please let me know. Thanks

[geekgirldany]

Snag, I had to use the form based 1040 in drake this year to find things too. Some were just not listed. I believe it is only the 1040.

I had to call them about a HSA and how it was calculating because the way drake was calculating it was totally different from taxwise. In taxwise I had to enter additional information. In drake it had the information in and calculated with any additional input from me. I double checked and drake had it right.