Deductions and Write-Offs

Travel costs to speak with your attorney, CPA, investment advisor about your investments or the production of income can be deducted as a miscellaneous itemized deduction subject to the 2% AGI limitation on IRS Schedule A.

Self-employed individuals and other small businesses will be entitled to immediately write off up to $500,000 of business equipment purchases in 2016 without having to depreciate the costs over a period of years.
The amount of the 179 deduction is reduced by the cost amount in excess of $500,000 dollars.

No. Blood donation to the red cross or hospital or other blood banks is not tax deductible.

Generally, No. Contributions to a foreign charitible organizations or to foreign governments are not tax deductible unless the organization obtained 501 (c) 3 designation from the IRS.

You may not deduct the rental value of property you allow a charity to use without charge.

Generally, the basis to the donee is the same as in the hands of the donor at the date of the gift.
To figure the basis of property you get as a gift, you must know its adjusted basis to the donor just before it was given to you. You also must know its fair market value (FMV) at the time it was given to you and any gift tax paid on it.
The basis to determine if there is a loss on the sale of a gift is the value as in the hands of the donor at the date of the gift or the fair market value Whichever is lower.
There is no gain or loss on a sale of a gift when the selling price is less than the basis for the gain and more than the basis for the loss calculation.
The basis of property received is increased by the amount of gift tax attributable to the net appreciation in value of the gift.
The net appreciation is the amount by which the fair market value of the gift exceeds the donor's adjusted basis immediately before the date of the gift.

Household employers must file IRS Schedule H to pay the social security and federal unemployment tax and any withheld federal income taxes.
A household employer is not required to withhold federal income tax from a household employee's wages.
Federal income tax withholding occurs if the employee requests and the employer agrees. Household employees include baby sitters, nannies, housekeepers, drivers, caretakers, health aids, private nurses, maids, gardeners, and others who work in or around your private residence as your employees.
Household workers who are under age 18 during any part of the calendar year are exempt from the FICA tax for the entire year even if the wages exceed $1,800 if the household employment is not their principal occupation. A full time student is considered a full time occupation. Workers you get from an agency are not your employees if the agency is responsible for who does the work and how it is done. Self-employed workers are not considered your employees. In the current year, if you paid a household employee cash wages of $1,800 or more in a calendar year, you generally must withhold social security and Medicare taxes from all cash wages you pay to that employee.

You can not take a deduction for the mandatory contributions you make to your union pension fund that is used to purchase a retirement annuity. The contributions are considered the cost of the annuity.

Amounts you paid to an appraiser for determining your art charitable contribution are deductible as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on IRS Schedule A subject to the 2% MAGI limitation.