Even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the April 15^th tax deadline, there will always be the challenge of determining whether to take the standard deduction or itemize.

According to a recent NerdWalletarticle, mortgage interest/insurance premiums and property taxes, along with medical expenses and charitable donations, are all typically deductible if you itemize.

When it comes to owning a home, there’s a $10,000 limit on the amount of state and local taxes, including property taxes, you can deduct, but it’s still worth going through the effort, according to Matt Keefer, a Director of Tax Services at Gorfine, Schiller & Gardyn (GSG), in the article.

“If I know a [single] taxpayer is guaranteed to have at least $10,000 [in deductions tied to state and local taxes], then I only need another $2,200 of other types of itemized deductions to get above the standard deduction,” said Keefer. “That’s the typical way that I look at it to see if it’s worth the effort for the clients to track down all the documents or not.”

Keefer also highlighted how taxpayers in Maryland should consider their state income tax return when deciding whether to itemize or take the standard deduction.

“Here in the state of Maryland, if you take the standard deduction on the federal return, then you have to take the standard deduction on the Maryland return,” added Keefer. “It’s something to look out for.”

Please click here to read the full NerdWalletarticle. Contact GSG for more information about what itemized deductions you can take for both your federal and state taxes in 2020.

Matt Keefer is a Director of Tax Services at GSG. With more than 15 years of public accounting experience, his responsibilities include preparing and reviewing income tax planning for corporations, partnerships, individuals and not-for-profit organizations, responding to federal and state tax notices, tax planning for high net worth individuals, and representing taxpayers before the IRS and state governments.