What does this mean? Why do they ask me this every time I get my taxes done? What does it take to itemize? Am I losing out if I don’t? These are all good questions. Let’s find out if you can benefit from itemizing on your next tax return.
Every year you have a choice between standard and itemized deduction. Itemizing means declaring your actual expenses, such as mortgage interest and taxes paid, instead of taking the default standard deduction set each year by the governing bodies.
If your total itemized deductions are higher than your standard deduction, you should choose to itemize for that year. You can choose to itemize deductions one year and not the next, only if it benefits you.