37. TOTAL ITEMIZED DEDUCTIONS FROM FEDERAL SCHEDULE A.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Iowa follows federal guidelines for Schedule A itemized deductions with certain exceptions.

To complete either the federal or Iowa Schedule A (pdf), refer to the federal 1040 instruction booklet.

Attach your Iowa Schedule A or federal Schedule A to your return.

Taxpayers with federal bonus depreciation/section 179 must complete and attach the Iowa Schedule A.

MEDICAL, DENTAL AND INSURANCE EXPENSES

Health insurance premiums, line 1:
100% of the amount paid for health insurance premiums is deductible on line 18 of the IA 1040. It may be to your advantage to take this deduction on line 18 instead of Schedule A. Schedule A may not contain any health insurance premiums which were used as a deduction on line 18.

Schedule A, line 2:
Certain itemized deductions are allowed only to the extent that the deductions exceed a percentage of federal adjusted gross income. These include medical and dental expenses that exceed 7.5% of federal adjusted gross income. The federal adjusted gross income used to determine these deductions is the taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income plus any bonus depreciation/section 179 adjustment from line 14 of the IA 1040.

VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEE DEDUCTION AND WORKSHEET

If you itemize deductions, a portion of the automobile or multipurpose vehicle annual registration fee you paid in 2009 may be deducted as personal property tax on your Iowa Schedule A, line 6, and federal Schedule A, line 8.

This deduction is for annual registration fees paid based on the value of qualifying automobiles and multipurpose vehicles. Multipurpose vehicles are defined as motor vehicles designed to carry not more than 10 people, and constructed either on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road operation [Iowa Code section 321.1(44)].

Annual registration fees on the following vehicles are not deductible: pickups (model year 2009 or older), motor trucks, work vans, ambulances, hearses, non-passenger-carrying vans, campers, motorcycles, or motor bikes.

Newer Vehicles:
Use the following worksheet to calculate the deductible amount of annual registration fees paid in 2009 for qualifying automobiles (model year 1999 or newer), pickups (model year 2010 or newer),* and multipurpose vehicles (model year 1993 or newer).

* Pickup truck registration fees were excluded as an itemized deduction in the past as the fees were structured as a flat fee and were not based on value.  However, for the 2009 tax year there has been a change in the registration fee structure for pickups.

More specifically, only 2010 and newer trucks that weigh in at 10,000 pounds or less when empty are registered based on weight, list price, and model year.  All other trucks are still subject to a registration fee based on weight.  Consequently, certain 2010 model year and newer trucks may use the Vehicle Registration Deduction Worksheet.

EXAMPLE

Lola purchased an automobile from Jennifer.
The actual fee Lola paid to register the automobile
at the courthouse was $150.
The weight of the automobile is 3,000 pounds.
The deductible amount is calculated as follows:

Older Vehicles:
For qualifying automobiles (model year 1998 or older) and multipurpose vehicles (model year 1992 or older) the deductible amount is 60% of the annual registration fees paid in 2009.

QUALIFIED MORTGAGE INSURANCE PREMIUMS

Line 11 of the Iowa Schedule A has the same deduction for qualified mortgage insurance premiums as taken on the federal Schedule A.

JOB EXPENSES AND MISC. DEDUCTIONS

Certain job expenses and miscellaneous deductions allowed to the extent the deductions are greater than 2% of the taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income.

IF AGI EXCEEDS $166,800 ($83,400 if married filing separately for federal purposes)

If your adjusted gross income on line 38, federal form 1040 (line 21, federal form 1040A) plus any Iowa bonus depreciation/section 179 adjustment from line 14 of the IA 1040 exceeds $166,800 ($83,400 if filing married separate for federal purposes), you may not be able to deduct all of your itemized deductions. If your federal adjusted gross income exceeds the above amounts, you must complete the Iowa Itemized Deductions Worksheet (pdf) (IA 104) to determine the amount to enter on line 39.

EXCEPTIONS TO FEDERAL SCHEDULE A

Federal bonus depreciation/section 179. If itemizing, taxpayers that have adjustments for federal bonus depreciation/section 179 on form IA 4562A must complete the Iowa Schedule A rather than using a copy of the federal Schedule A.

Health insurance premiums. 100% of the amount paid for health insurance premiums is deductible on line 18 of the IA 1040. It may be to your advantage to take this deduction on line 18 instead of Schedule A. Schedule A may not contain any health insurance premiums which were used as a deduction on line 18.

Injured Veterans Grant Program Contributions. These contributions do not qualify as itemized deductions.

Charitable Conservation Contribution Tax Credit. Do not include as an itemized deduction any contributions for which a credit is claimed on line 53 of the IA 1040.

Mortgage Interest Credit Deduction. Taxpayers with the mortgage interest credit can claim on their Iowa return a deduction on line 9b of Schedule A for all mortgage interest paid in the tax year and not just the mortgage interest that was deducted on the federal Schedule A.

School Tuition Organization Contributions. Do not include as an itemized deduction any contributions for which a credit is claimed on line 53 of the IA 1040.

State Sales/Use Tax. The itemized deduction for state sales and use tax is not allowed on the Iowa Schedule A.

New Motor Vehicle Taxes. The federal new motor vehicle taxes deduction for qualified new vehicles is not allowed on the Iowa Schedule A. The federal deduction is shown on federal Schedule A, line 7 or indicated on federal 1040, line 40b.

Married Separate Filers: If you used Iowa Schedule A, enter the totals from line 30 and line 31, Iowa Schedule A, in Columns A and B on line 39 of the IA 1040. If you used federal Schedule A, you should prorate your itemized deductions between you and your spouse in the ratio of each spouse’s net income on line 26, IA 1040 to the total net income of both spouses. (However, this allocation of itemized deductions should be done after any Iowa income tax is subtracted from the total itemized deductions claimed on federal Schedule A.) Line 38 and line 40 of the IA 1040 should also be divided between spouses in the ratio of their respective net incomes. (Examples of how to prorate)

Go to Line 36

Go to Line 38