time to do taxes.. how do I save on them???

[Ender510]

What are some ways to save?? What kind of deductions can I do? How about "tax writeoffs"? What exactly are those?

How about credits? How does that work? This is my first year I am actually doing them myself and was hoping for some ideas.. can i write off home office expenses somehow? What won't create red flags for an audit??

 

[vi edit]

Are you self employed?

 

[Ender510]

Nope, not officially.. i did some jobs for some people, but it was more cash deals. I actually work for a software company and am a consultant there so I have expenses with them but these are all reimbursed so I figure this won't count..

What I mean by examples are things such as:

DMV Registration

WHat else can I do writeoffs on this? What is pushing the limit where I may/may not get audited?

 

[Total Refected Power]

You only have deductions if you itemize. Otherwise you take the standard personal deduction and that's it. You only itemize if your deductions are greater than the standard deduction. Most people need a MORTGAGE to begin to itemize as the interest is substantial.

For several years I used the EZ form as I was a poor student with little income and no reason to itemize. Even now I use the standard form.

 

[poop]

Sounds like you are trying to cheat...

Lines like "What is pushing the limit where I may/may not get audited? " and "i did some jobs for some people, but it was more cash deals." kind of make me wonder what your motivation is here.

Do you want to pay your fair share? Or are you looking to cut your taxes as much as possible, through legal and illegal means.

 

[Ender510]

How much is the "standard deduction" ? Is this not questioned by the IRS if I just claim the max? Or do I need receipts and such? What are the chances of being audited?

 

[Ender510]

poop: what i mean by cash deals are like memory upgrades or hard drive installs.. nothing big really and i don't have a "business license" per say.. but just do stuff on the side so I don't think that really counts as a business..

As for whether it's legit or not.. I want to know all the legit ways I can claim tihngs basically.. like I didn't know about the DMV registration thing where u can write this off.. things like that a normal person wouldn't know i am trying to find out. Such as doing donations to charity and such, etc. what are ways to save on paying taxes is my basic question..

 

[wyvrn]

The IRS picks people out at random to audit, not sure about the percentages. I would use turbotax online (for 7 bucks) and follow the prompts. They will help you determine which form to use and it is much easier than the paper format. I deducted interest paid on student loans. Nothing much other than that, but it helped BTW I used form 1040.

 

[thebestMAX]

I would not worry about being audited too much from what you have said.

Why dont you just get a copy of Turbo Tax ($15-20) and play with it. Will really answer a lot of your questions plus do your return.

You get at least the standard deduction no questions asked and if you dont have a morgage or big business expenses for travel, equipment, parts and so forth, will probably be what you use.