End of year tax paperwork collection gets a lot easier

With the New Year right around the corner, it’s time to start getting your tax ducks in a row. LA Champagne and Company partner Wayne Dussel says the tax reform bill passed at the beginning of the year means less tax work, and the end of middle-class folks with straightforward finances having to save their 2018 receipts for expenses and charity to itemize for optimal tax results.

“Many people who just have things like mortgage interest, property taxes, they in all likelihood will be taking the standard deduction going forward.”

He says individuals making around 40,000 a year will almost certainly be taking the standard deduction.

Because of the increased standard deduction, many will no longer see a benefit from reporting tax write-offs like donations and mortgage interest for the average home. Dussel says that means lower tax incentives for those activities.

“If you are going to give a lot to charity because you want to, then that’s a good reason, but if you didn’t intend to, and you end up with less money overall, then you shouldn’t probably do that.”

And Dussel says the average wage earner hoping for a noticeably bigger return from the 1.5 trillion dollar tax cut is likely to be disappointed. He says it’s not a middle-class tax cut.

“You will see some money, but it’s going to be a couple hundred dollars. It’s not going to be the thousands that people in the higher tax brackets will see.”

The IRS will start accepting returns January 29^th.