IRS Increases Certain Deductions for 2019

It may be too soon think about filing your tax returns for 2018 , but the Internal Revenue Service is reminding taxpayers of some changes for the better this next tax season.

First, if you deduct mileage on your income tax, the Internal Revenue Service has increased the amount you can deduct in 2019.

On Monday the IRS issued the 2019 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes.

Beginning on January first, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car will be:

58 cents per mile driven for business use, up 3.5 cents from the rate for 2018,
20 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, up 2 cents from the rate for 2018, and
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.

However, the IRS said that under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, taxpayers can no longer claim a miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses.

Some other good news for taxpayers this tax season:

The new tax law nearly doubles the standard deduction amount.

Single taxpayers will see their standard deductions jump from $6,350 for 2017 taxes to $12,000 for 2018 taxes..

Married couples filing jointly see an increase from $12,700 to $24,000.

And for families with children, the Child Tax Credit is doubled from $1,000 per child to $2,000.

In addition, the amount that is refundable grows from $1,100 to $1,400.

To get more information on changes in the new tax law, you can go online to IRS.gov.