Instructions For Schedules A & B (Form 1040) - 2008 printable pdf download

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

2008 Instructions for Schedules A & B

(Form 1040)

Use Schedule A (Form 1040) to figure your itemized deductions. In most cases, your federal

Instructions for

income tax will be less if you take the larger of your itemized deductions or your standard

deduction.

Schedule A,

If you itemize, you can deduct a part of your medical and dental expenses and un-

reimbursed employee business expenses, and amounts you paid for certain taxes, interest,

contributions, and miscellaneous expenses. You can also deduct certain casualty and theft

Itemized

losses.

If you and your spouse paid expenses jointly and are filing separate returns for 2008, see

Deductions

Pub. 504 to figure the portion of joint expenses that you can claim as itemized deductions.

Do not include on Schedule A items deducted elsewhere, such as on Form 1040

or Schedule C, C-EZ, E, or F.

tion pension recipient, you must reduce

Section references are to the Internal

Medical and Dental

your insurance premiums by any amounts

Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

used to figure the health coverage tax

Expenses

credit. See the instructions for line 1 on

page A-2.

You can deduct only the part of your medi-

What’s New

cal and dental expenses that exceeds 7.5%

•

of the amount on Form 1040, line 38.

Prescription medicines or insulin.

Qualified contributions.

Certain cash con-

•

tributions you made for relief efforts in a

Acupuncturists, chiropractors, den-

Pub. 502 discusses the types of ex-

Midwestern disaster area are not subject to

tists, eye doctors, medical doctors, occupa-

penses that you can and cannot deduct. It

the overall limitation on itemized deduc-

also explains when you can deduct capital

tional therapists, osteopathic doctors,

tions or the 50% adjusted gross income

expenses and special care expenses for dis-

physical therapists, podiatrists, psychia-

limitation. See Pub. 526 for more details.

abled persons.

trists, psychoanalysts (medical care only),

and psychologists.

The 2008 rate for

If you received a distribution

Standard mileage rates.

•

Medical examinations, X-ray and lab-

from a health savings account

use of your vehicle to get medical care is 19

oratory services, insulin treatment, and

cents a mile (27 cents a mile after June 30,

or a medical savings account in

whirlpool baths your doctor ordered.

2008). The 2008 rate for charitable use of

2008, see Pub. 969 to figure

•

Diagnostic tests, such as a full-body

your vehicle to provide relief related to a

your deduction.

Midwestern disaster area is 36 cents a mile

scan, pregnancy test, or blood sugar test kit.

Examples of Medical and

•

(41 cents a mile after June 30, 2008).

Nursing help (including your share of

Dental Payments You Can

the employment taxes paid). If you paid

The op-

State and local general sales taxes.

Deduct

someone to do both nursing and house-

tion to deduct state and local general sales

work, you can deduct only the cost of the

To the extent you were not reimbursed, you

taxes instead of state and local income

nursing help.

taxes was extended through 2009. See the

can deduct what you paid for:

•

Hospital care (including meals and

•

instructions for line 5 that begin on page

Insurance premiums for medical and

lodging), clinic costs, and lab fees.

A-2.

dental care, including premiums for quali-

•

Qualified long-term care services (see

fied long-term care contracts as defined in

Qualified mortgage insurance premiums.

Pub. 502).

Pub. 502. But see Limit on long-term care

•

The deduction for qualified mortgage in-

premiums you can deduct on page A-2. Re-

The supplemental part of Medicare in-

surance premiums for mortgage insurance

duce the insurance premiums by any

surance (Medicare B).

contracts issued after December 31, 2006,

•

self-employed health insurance deduction

The premiums you pay for Medicare

was extended through 2010. See the in-

you claimed on Form 1040, line 29. You

Part D insurance.

structions for line 13 on page A-6.

cannot deduct insurance premiums paid

•

A program to stop smoking and for

with pretax dollars because the premiums

prescription medicines to alleviate nicotine

Disaster area casualties and thefts.

Spe-

are not included in box 1 of your Form(s)

cial rules apply to casualty and theft losses

withdrawal.

W-2. If you are a retired public safety of-

•

that occurred in the Kansas disaster area, a

ficer, you cannot deduct any premiums you

A weight-loss program as treatment

Midwestern disaster area, or a federally de-

paid to the extent they were paid for with a

for a specific disease (including obesity)

clared disaster area. See the instructions for

tax-free distribution from your retirement

diagnosed by a doctor.

line 20 that begin on page A-8.

•

plan.

Medical treatment at a center for drug

or alcohol addiction.

The

If, during 2008, you were an el-

Qualified conservation contributions.

•

Medical aids such as eyeglasses, con-

igible trade adjustment assis-

special deduction limit for qualified con-

tact lenses, hearing aids, braces, crutches,

servation contributions has been extended

t a n c e ( T A A ) r e c i p i e n t ,

through 2009. See Pub. 526 for more de-

alternative TAA (ATAA) recip-

wheelchairs, and guide dogs, including the

tails.

ient, or Pension Benefit Guaranty Corpora-

cost of maintaining them.

A-1

Cat. No. 24328L

Instructions For Schedules A & B (Form 1040) - 2008

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