October 7, 2006 5:34 PM
Many Taxpayers Forgot Sales Tax Deduction
WSJ reports that about half a million itemized taxpayers in seven no-state-income states forgot to include sales-tax deduction, which usually means several hundred dollars in reduced tax. (Unfortunately, the clause hasn't been renewed for 2006 yet.)
From WSJ:
Many people overlooked the sales-tax deduction on their return for 2005.
That's the conclusion of a new report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, or TIGTA. The report underscores the difficulty many puzzled taxpayers have in keeping up ever-changing tax laws. As a result, many people wind up paying more federal taxes than they should.
Through May of this year, about 34.5 million returns for 2005 were processed with itemized deductions, TIGTA says. Of those, 5.3 million were filed by taxpayers residing in seven states without a state income tax. About 14% of those returns didn't claim a sales-tax deduction, the report says.
This tax break, along with several other popular ones, expired at the end of 2005. Under this provision, taxpayers who itemized could deduct either their state and local income taxes or sales taxes, but not both.
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