Medical Expenses

• Out-of-pocket medical expenses for co-payments, extra procedures, prescriptions and premiums are deductible if they exceed a certain percentage of your income. To claim medical expenses as deductions that exceed 7.5 percent of your 2011 income, you must itemize deductions instead of claiming the standard deduction. This percentage increases in 2013 to 10 percent. Internal Revenue Service publications that explain deductible medical expenses include 502, Medical and Dental Expenses, and 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans.
  
  

Donating to Charity and Volunteer Work

• Cash donations to qualified charities up to 50 percent of your income are deductible expenses, but require documentation in the form of written acknowledgement from the charity. Qualified charities are listed in IRS Publication 78, Cumulative List of Organizations. Expenses incurred during volunteer work are deductible, including mileage for travel to and from volunteer work, childcare expense incurred during volunteer work and money spent on a mentoring recipient.
  
  

Job-Related Expenses

• Qualified job-related expenses are eligible to be deducted from income, as explained in IRS Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions. They include the costs of searching for a new job in the same line of work, costs of work uniforms including shoes required to perform your job, the costs of work-related and industry publications, union and professional association dues and membership fees and work tools not provided by employers but required to perform your job. If you use your home for work or self-employment, you may be eligible for the home office deduction if you meet certain qualifications, explained in IRS Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home.
  
  

Tax Information Sources

• Although the annual tax code is a formidable reference with a huge amount of information, there are many other user-friendly sources of information about taxes. The IRS maintains a website for taxpayers with information about tax issues, as well as publications for special tax situations. Financial advisors, accountants, tax filing services and tax software are all good sources of information about taxes and income tax-deductible expenses.