For many taxpayers, the IRS refund is an extra amount added to the annual family budget. Knowing how to take advantage of all the deductions provided for by tax law is therefore an advantage that should not be lost. With less than 15 days to go before the end of the year, Dinheiro Vivo wanted to listen to the experts and understand what can still be done to save on taxes due in 2024.
Firstly, it is essential that taxpayers remember to include their tax number on all invoices throughout the year. Without this step it will not be possible to benefit from any deductions, that is, part of these expenses will be deducted from the total amount eligible for taxation and thus the tax payable will be reduced.
Expenses such as education and training, healthcare, housing, houses and other general expenses such as electricity, gas, water, clothing, supermarkets or fuel can be saved. For example, in education, 30% of expenses are deductible up to a limit of 800 euros per household, while in healthcare the limit deduction is 15%, up to a maximum of 1000 euros. The same 15% applies to expenses for home rental or interest on home loans taken out until 2011, with a limit of 502 and 296 euros respectively. For nursing home costs, you can deduct 25% of the costs, with a maximum of 403.75 euros.
For general costs, the deduction is 35%, up to a maximum amount of 250 euros per taxpayer or 500 euros per couple, with or without family members. In this case, the maximum benefit is achieved when expenses exceed 715 euros, in the case of an individual taxpayer, or 745 euros, in the case of a married couple. For single-parent families, the deduction percentage increases to 45%.
There are also some costs that allow you to deduct the value of the VAT. For example, monthly passes contribute to a 100% VAT refund, while expenses for restaurants, hotels, hairdressers, veterinarians, gyms or car or motorcycle repairs deduct 15% of the VAT up to a maximum of 250 euros per household, if a married couple does the joint work together. tax return, and 125 euros if they do so separately.
Regardless of whether you request all invoices with a tax number, it is equally important that you check the invoices on the e-Fatura portal in a timely manner.
To avoid having too much work, it is preferable to do this all year round, for example once a month, so that you have properly validated all expenses by the end of February.
The final date that the Tax Authorities (AT) announces for this audit is usually the end of February. Without this check, you may miss important deductions. However, after this period, household expenses can still be added manually when filing the IRS return (from April 1 and until the end of June, if there is no change). As Deco Proteste explains, you should consult Table 6-C in Appendix H and answer the question affirmatively: ‘As an alternative to the values communicated to the Tax Authorities (AT), you intend to declare health, education – and education costs, real estate costs and household expenses?” AT will therefore ignore the values available on the e-Fatura platform and rely on the values you manually enter in the declaration.
Investing in renovation pays off
Ensuring that the end of working life, from the age of 66, does not have a negative impact on the lives of taxpayers is something that can (and should) be planned from the age of 30. Taking out a Retirement Savings Plan (PPR) and taking advantage of the benefits that these financial products bring is another option that can still be taken until December 31. If you invest 2,000 euros in a PPR until then, you will receive a 20% deduction. However, the maximum amounts taken into account vary depending on the age group you are in. For taxpayers under 35 years of age the limit is 400 euros, between 35 and 50 years this amount drops to 350 euros and for persons over 50 years of age the maximum deduction is 300 euros. Deco Proteste reminds you that PPRs are only deductible until the retirement date, which means that a retiree who subscribes to such a product will not benefit from the deduction.
It remains to be recalled that in the first half of 2023, the government introduced a change in the IRS income brackets that guaranteed greater liquidity for many taxpayers. The less good news is that for this reason the amounts reimbursed will be lower in 2024.
Source: DN
