Читать книгу J.K. Lasser's 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks 2022 - Barbara Weltman - Страница 9

There are 5 types of tax‐advantaged items receiving preferential or favorable treatment under the tax law:

1 Tax‐free income—income you can receive without any current or future tax concerns. Tax‐free income may be in the form of exclusions or exemptions from tax. In many cases, tax‐free items do not even have to be reported in any way on your return.

2 Capital gains—profits on the sale or exchange of property held for more than one year (long‐term). Long‐term capital gains are subject to lower tax rates than the rates on other income, such as salary and interest income, and may even be tax free in some cases. Ordinary dividends on stocks and capital gain distributions from stock mutual funds are taxed at the same low rates as long‐term capital gains.

3 Tax‐deferred income—income that isn't currently taxed. Since the income builds up without any reduction for current tax, you may accumulate more over time. However, at some point the income becomes taxable.

4 Deductions—items you can subtract from your income to reduce the amount of income subject to tax. There are 2 classes of deductions: those “above the line,” which are subtracted directly from gross income, and those “below the line,” which can be claimed only if you itemize deductions instead of claiming the standard deduction (explained later).

5 Credits—items you can use to offset your tax on a dollar‐for‐dollar basis. There are 2 types of tax credits: one that can be used only to offset tax liability (called a “nonrefundable” credit) and one that can be claimed even if it exceeds tax liability and you receive a refund (called a “refundable” credit). Usually you must complete a special tax form for each credit you claim.

This book focuses on different types of tax‐favored items: exclusions (tax‐free income), above‐the‐line deductions that don't require itemizing, itemized deductions, tax credits, and other benefits, such as subtractions that reduce income. At the end of this Introduction you'll see symbols used to easily identify the type of benefit being explained.