Tax Deductible

As we will soon be entering the tax preparation season, there are some things we might want to consider.  Actually, it's two major things to consider that apply to a number of areas of our life.  There is no free lunch and that includes tax deductions and credits.  Tax deductions or credits basically fall into two categories.  People and stuff.  When we receive a deduction or credit regarding a person in our life, that individual is one of the millions who is now collateral for the national debt.

A couple cannot file a joint return without a marriage license.  The marriage license is a contract between two people and the state.  Parents cannot claim their children without providing social security numbers of the children.  That has not always been the case.  I am 56 years old.  I did not need or acquire a social security card or number until I wanted a job and a driver's license.  A birth certificate with a social security card application is really quite recent.  I'd have to ask my ex-husband to be sure, but I don't think we had to list social security numbers for our kids on the tax returns, and I know there was no social security card application when filling out a birth certificate when I was having children.

When it comes to credits or deductions for people, that is literally assigning a monetary value to a human being.  Oh, we don't use that term, and for the most part, none of us even considered it, but with the rising national debt, and the requirement of documentation, the correlation should be obvious.  The statement:  "For social security and tax purposes -Not for identification" actually used to be printed on social security cards.  Now, for most any monetary transaction, we are asked at least the last four numbers of our "social."  How many times have you heard, "What are the last four of your social?"  That question literally makes me cringe, every time I hear it.

When it comes to deductions or credits involving possessions, the deduction is based upon a percentage of the payments.  I was getting my house in order, thinking now that I have one entire room dedicated to my business and one entire room for ministry, I'd be figuring my taxes differently this year.  Then it dawned upon me.  Without a mortgage, I have no percentage to figure to deduct the room.  Without a 501c3 the government doesn't even recognize this ministry.  The only figures our tax system is interested in when it comes to this ministry and my business are the figures of income . . . PERIOD.  And those are taxable!

As you prepare to figure your taxes in the coming, really consider the cost of the deductions and credits that are offered.