You bunch as many tax-deductible expenses as possible into a single tax year. In the year that you have bunched your itemized deductions, you itemize on your taxes. The following year, you take the standard deduction. You then alternate the years that you itemize moving forward.
What Deductions Qualify for Itemized Bunching
Bunching can work with any expense that you can itemize, but you need to be able to control when you incur these expenses. That typically leads people to bunch expenses in three key areas:
- Property taxes
- Charitable contributions
- Health expenses
While these are the most common items people bunch, others may apply in your situation. Talk with a WFA Tax Advisor if you think this strategy could work for you.
Who Benefits from Bunching Itemized Deductions
Bunching itemized deductions works best when the amount you could itemize each year doesn’t quite get you to the standard deduction. Without this strategy, you would likely take the standard deduction every year. By bunching your itemized deductions every other year, you can get a higher deduction in the bunched years, reducing the amount of tax you owe in those years.
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