What can i write off?

Question

im a high school student making about 12,000 a year... what kinds of things can i write off when i do my taxes! thanks. can i write off work shoes/ uniform are there any other i can be reinburshed for

Answer 1

You define yourself as a high school student, which tells me you are a full-time student. So, unless your $12,000 covers half of your living expenses, you are, most likely, a dependent of your parent. Therefore, you cannot take the personal exemption. Once you fully understand your filing status you should find it easy (and probably free) to file your return via irs.gov

Edit: Ken Lay, a high school student is going to be under 24 and in full-time education (or to an under 19 in any case). Therefore the Gross Income Test is not considered. If he passes all the other tests, he will be a dependent.

Answer 2

For federal income tax, you can itemize the shoes and uniforms as miscellaneous itemized deductions but it's subjected to 2% AGI limitation. At 12K annual income, it would be easier if you just take the standard deduction of $5150 for year 2006 and personal exemption of $3300 (yr 2006). If you're planning tax return for 2007, recheck the figures, they change every year.

Answer 3

Work shoes and uniform can be deducted (not reimbursed) if not paid for by your employer, but only if you itemize, which would be pretty unlikely for a high school student.

Answer 4

In respond to Skip's answer, to claim as dependent you'll need to pass the gross income test, which states that to be a dependent, an individual must have a gross income less than the dependency exemption amount.($3,300 in 2006). Since your income exceed the $3,300 limit, you have to file a 1040 or 1040EZ on your own.

Answer 5

nothing unless you own a house...take the std deduction and pay your taxes...you can put money in an IRA if you meet all the requirments and it will be tax deferred.