Taking deductions on your taxes has always been a complicated endeavor. But the recent tax law passed by Congress in 2017 tried to make the process far simpler for most people. To do this, they raised the “standard deduction” to $12,000 for single filers and $24,000 for married couples filing together.
This means that there are many deductions you don’t qualify for, unless you can deduct more than that standard amount. But there are some deductions that you can take in addition to the standard deduction, which are called “above the line” deductions.
Traditional IRA contributions, health savings accounts, and educator expenses are all deductions you can take no matter how you are filing this year. Read all about them, and some others that you might qualify for, in this article from The Simple Dollar.