Does a Tax Deduction and a Tax Credit Result in the Same Tax Benefit?

TAX DEDUCTIONS

Tax deductions reduce the taxable portion of an individual’s income, which then reduces the tax on that income. But tax deductions come in a variety of flavors, as explained next:

ITEMIZED DEDUCTIONS

When taxpayers think of deductions, they typically think of the itemized deductions that are claimed on Schedule A. This is the only way to deduct personal expenses such as medical costs, state and local tax payments, investment and home-mortgage interest, charitable contributions (in most years), disaster-casualty losses, and various rarely encountered expenses. In some cases, itemized deductions are limited. 

For instance, medical expenses are only deductible to the extent they exceed 7.5% of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI). Similarly, state and local tax payments (including those for income, sales, and property taxes) are currently capped at $10,000. However, pending legislation may increase or eliminate that limitation. 

For any change, please contact this office. On top of that, itemization only reduces taxable income to the extent that the total of the itemized deductions exceeds the standard deduction. When the sum does not exceed the standard deduction, the itemized deductible expenses provide no tax benefits at all.

ABOVE-THE-LINE DEDUCTIONS

Certain deductions actually reduce income. These are commonly called above-the-line deductions because, when applied, they reduce the income figure that is used to calculate AGI. Thus, their benefits apply regardless of whether the taxpayer uses itemized deductions. Above-the-line deductions include educators’ expenses; contributions to health savings accounts, traditional IRAs, and certain qualified retirement plans; deductible alimony payments; and student-loan interest. Most of these deductions have annual maximums (not discussed in this article).

BELOW-THE-LINE DEDUCTIONS

These are deductions allowed without having to itemize that reduce a taxpayer’s taxable income but not their AGI. For example, for 2021 taxpayers who don’t itemize their deductions are allowed a limited deduction for cash charitable contributions. That donation to charity is a below-the-line deduction. Normally, charitable contributions are only allowed when itemizing on Schedule A.

Example: In 2021 Liz, who is single, has wage income of $50,000 and made a contribution to her traditional IRA of $3,000. She also contributed $300 to the Red Cross and is not itemizing deductions. Her AGI is $47,000 ($50,000 – $3,000). Her taxable income is $34,150 (AGI $47,000 – $300 donation – standard deduction for a single person of $12,550). Her income tax is based on her taxable income of $34,150.

Another below-the-line deduction is the Section 199A qualified business income deduction that is generally 20% of net business income from pass-through activities.

You may wonder: why bother to distinguish between above- and below-the-line deductions? The AGI is used for applying limitations and phaseouts for a variety of deductions and credits. While Congress wanted taxpayers to benefit from below-the-line deductions, the legislators didn’t want taxpayers to benefit too much – they didn’t want the AGI to be reduced by these deductions because that could have resulted in more generous other deductions and credits.

BUSINESS DEDUCTIONS

Taxpayers who operate noncorporate businesses can deduct from their business income expenses that they incur when operating their businesses. These deductions (which cover advertising fees, employee wages, office-supply costs, etc.) are used to reduce profits, which in turn reduces AGI and taxable income and, ultimately, income tax. In addition, most self-employed taxpayers pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on their net business income, so any reduction in their business profits also reduces their Medicare taxes and possibly their Social Security taxes.

ASSET-SALE DEDUCTIONS

An individual who sells an asset is allowed to deduct that asset’s cost from the sale price to determine the taxable profit. Good recordkeeping is helpful here because the original expense may have been incurred years prior, even though it is only deductible when the asset is sold. For example, any improvements that an individual makes to a home over years of ownership are not deductible until the home is sold. At that point, the individual can reduce the taxable gain from the sale by counting the improvements as part of the home’s cost.