WHAT WHAT! Deduct state and local sales tax?

[hoping2retire35]

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/sales-tax-deduction-calculator
so this seems for real. I guess the caveat is that you cannot deduct property tax if you deduct sales tax if I read that correctly? not sure

Does anyone do this?

[sirdoug007]

You can deduct both property tax and sales tax (I do every year).

You cannot deduct both income tax and sales tax.

"If you file a Form 1040, and itemize deductions on Schedule A, you have the option of claiming either state and local income taxes or state and local sales taxes (you can’t claim both)."

This works out awesome if you live in zero income tax states such as Texas or Florida!

[HPstache]

This is typically a benefit for states that have have no state income tax, such as Washington... texas is another example off the top of my head.  In that case, it is beneficial to deduct sales tax in lieu of state income tax.  If you live in a state with income tax, then that number is usually higher than sales tax (especially if you're mustachian) and therefore it's more benefial to claim your income tax.  This is clearly an "or" situation as you can see on your Schedule A lines 5 a/b,  you can only deduct one or the other. 

You can deduct both sales tax and property tax, property tax is on your schedule A, line 6.

[Spork]

I always put in the information... but to be honest, the standard deduction always wins.

As a Mustacian with low consumption, you don't even have to use your actual sales tax*.  There is a formula that applies "normal people's spending" to your income.  In theory you can legally inflate your sales tax numbers quite a bit with very little effort.

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*If you happened to purchase several big ticket items, it may be in your best interest to use actual sales tax.

[seattlecyclone]

Yep, we claim the sales tax deduction every year because our state has no income tax. I saved all of our receipts for a few years to see how much sales tax we actually spent, but it was always less than half of what the IRS expected us to spend based on our income level, so I quit saving receipts. The standard deduction would win for us if we didn't give to charity. Sales and property tax get us just over halfway there on their own.

[wenchsenior]

We're in Texas, so we do claim this deduction in the rare years that itemizing gets us over the standard deduction. ETA: Yes, you can deduct sales tax AND property tax in the same year if you are itemizing.