Cash in on these tax savings!

Heard that tax breaks this year are not all they’re cracked up to be? No worries! We dug to find you some sneaky savings that will have you singing a happy tune

Claim more health costs

The recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts (TCJA) made a lot of changes to the tax code. One that can make a big difference if you have hefty health-care bills? For 2018 taxes, you can deduct qualified unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income(agi)—in the past, that threshold had been 10%. So if you have an AGI of $55,000 with $ 6,000 in medical expenses, you can now claim $1,875 versus $500 in years past. (Note: This expansion is temporary and won’t work next year.)

Make your home office work for

Work for yourself? This year, even more selfemployed filers can qualify for a home-office deduction. That’s because people who have no fixed location for their businesses (like, say, pet sitters or interior decorators) can claim a home office deduction if they use a dedicated space in their home exclusively for administrative or management activities—the space can be as simple as a desk you use solely for your job. Previously, you would only qualify if you met clients in that space.

Itemize to your benefit

Just like in previous years, you have the option of taking a “standard deduction” for your taxes or itemizing your expenses and using that amount as your deduction. However, even if you itemized in years past, you may want to change it up this year since the standard deductions are nearly double what they were last year—$12,000 for singles (previously $ 6,350) and $ 24,000 for married couples filing jointly (previously $12,700). You can also add an extra $1,300 to that if you’re over age 65.

Earn new credits for your dependents

Take note, parents and caregivers: Not only did the Child Tax Credit double from $1,000 per child to $ 2,000 this year, the income limits for those able to claim the credit have also increased (from $110,000 for a married couple to $ 400,000). What’s more, you can now also claim dependent children who are age 17 or older at the end of 2018, or even parents or other qualifying relatives who you support financially, for a credit of $500.