- Look at the standard deductions. In 2008, the standard deduction for married couples filing together was $10,900. It was half of that for singles and married couples filing independently. Heads of the household received $8000 in standard deductions. Check your interest you paid on the mortgage. Sometimes this is greater than the standard deduction and requires no thought about itemization. Look for other items to deduct when taking federal income tax deductions if you think you're close to the standard deduction.
- Deduct other things besides your mortgage interest. You can also deduct other taxes, health related items, expenses from your job, gambling losses up to the amount you won, casualty and theft loss and charitable contributions. Some of these only allow you to deduct an amount above a specific percent of your income.
- See what taxes you can deduct. If you have state and local property tax, deduct it. In addition, state tax paid to the government is deductible on your federal income tax. Deducting state taxes from your federal income often is enough to make it worth while itemizing.
- Take medical expenses that amount to more than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. The IRS allows this expense in full after the 7.5 percent, regardless of the income threshold. Some of these expenses include the amount you paid for health insurance. The medical expense section also includes dental expenses. If you had work done in one year and paid in another, deduct it the year you paid for the procedure. Don't forget to deduct the cost of any changes to your home to make it handicapped accessible.
- Smile a bit over a loss from theft, flood, fire or other disaster. If your insurance didn't cover enough, you may have another deduction. Any loss beyond 10 percent of your adjusted gross income is also deductible. While it may not be enough to cover everything you lost, it does make it a little easier to handle. Except for the 10 percent rule that affects everyone, this item doesn't reduce because of the income threshold.
- Donate to charity and get the deduction. Not all deductions need to be cash. If you donate to resale shops for charity, make sure that you get a receipt to prove the value. Sometimes people donate things like greatly appreciated stock or other property to charity instead of money. In this case, if you sold the property, you'd pay a lot in taxes. If you donate the stock or property, you get to take the full amount of its value off the taxes.
- Remember if it costs you money to make money then you aren't reaping the full reward. The government understands this and gives you a deduction for the expenses on your job. Since most people have some expense to work, they limit it to amounts over 2 percent. In the same area, you can take other miscellaneous expenses. If you hit it big in a casino, don't forget about all the times you lost money the rest of the year. Most casinos have a record of your losses if you use a player's card. Stop and ask them for a copy. Other offsets for gambling winnings are tickets that you bought in state lotteries or scratch offs. All losses of legal gambling offset a win. Your income threshold doesn't limit deductible losses.