As the U.S. Congress tackles the inevitable writing and passage of new federal income tax provisions, what’s a taxpayer to do?  We recommend looking at existing 2011 tax breaks that will disappear soon.  Here are a few tax provisions expiring at December 31, 2011 that may help reduce your 2011 individual income tax bill:

• Itemized deduction for state and local general sales taxes - Taxpayers who forgo a deduction for state and local income taxes can deduct either actual sales tax amounts or a predetermined amount from IRS tables.
• Itemized deduction for mortgage insurance premiums as qualified residence interest - Phaseout of deduction begins as a taxpayer’s AGI exceeds certain income levels depending on filing status.  
• Above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses for higher education – This deduction has limitations based on income and cannot be taken if one of the education credits is claimed.
• Grades K - 12 school teachers can take a $250 above-the-line deduction for unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses including books and supplies.

Each tax break has additional qualification factors and/or income limitation details that can be found at www.irs.gov or by calling our office at 360-733-1010.