Tax Day Countdown: Last-Minute Deductions

We’re now less than a week until the April 15 IRS tax deadline. For all you last-minute filers, one of the nation’s top accountants joined Carmen to reveal the deductions and credits you may be eligible for in your 2008 filings.

After all, this past year was different for just about anyone. There’s a good chance you received less income for the year, and that opens a handful of new doors for deductions and credits you may not have even known exist.

According to Elda Di Re, CPA and partner in personal financial services for Ernst & Young, many taxpayers can qualify for claims and deductions that are income based, such as: Child Tax Credit (Incomes below $110,000 for married filing jointly or $75,000 for singles), Tuition Credit (Married Household Incomes under $116,000 or singles making $58,000 or less), IRA Deductions (Married Household Incomes under $105,000 and less or $63,000 or less for singles), Medical Expense Deductions (Medical Expenses must exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted annual income).

>>Last minute tax questions? Email our experts!

Unemployment income is taxable and the IRS has noticed a trend that tax payers are forgetting to submit unemployment income on their taxes. The government will send a 1099 form and you should include this income on your tax return. That said, you can deduct capital losses – and chances are you’ve had some in the past year. Take all your stock, bond and real estate investments and add them up – if you have an overall loss, you can take up to $3,000 of the loss against your other income. Any excess over $3000 you can carry forward to 2009.