Definition of "income" for sales tax deduction table

We're supposed to use our "income" when we go to the IRS's state and local Sales Tax Tables to look up how much general sales tax we can deduct on Schedule A, right? And IRS's instructions for Schedule A tell us to include "any nontaxable items" in that income, right? Can we include Gifts Received in our "income" for this purpose?

Whaddya think?

Interesting thought.

Income. Your 2018 income is the amount shown on your Form 1040, line 7, plus any nontaxable items, such as the following.

• Tax-exempt interest.
• Veterans' benefits.
• Nontaxable combat pay.
• Workers' compensation.
• Nontaxable part of social security
and railroad retirement benefits.
• Nontaxable part of IRA, pension,
or annuity distributions. Don't include
rollovers.
• Public assistance payments

Any is certainly a more favorable word than "some" or "certain"...

Sec 164(b)(5)(H) seems to only mentions AGI though...

From Notice 2005-31:

Total available income is adjusted gross income (AGI) plus amounts not reflected in AGI that increase spendable income, such as worker’s compensation, public assistance payments, military compensation earned in a combat zone, tax-exempt interest, the refundable portion of refundable tax credits, and the nontaxable part of social security, veterans’ or railroad retirement benefits and of IRA, pension or annuity distributions.

If the gifts are cash, then I would include them under the theory that the cash increases the taxpayer’s “spendable income.” If the gifts are property, then I would not include them.

If the gifts are cash, then I would include them under the theory that the cash increases the taxpayer’s “spendable income.” If the gifts are property, then I would not include them. I would, because the gift of property allowed me to spend cash on other property.

And section 102, the one that excludes gifts (and inheritances) from gross income, is right adjacent to section 103, the one that excludes certain interest, so why would one count and not the other?

I would, because the gift of property allowed me to spend cash on other property.

And couldn’t you buy something with property?

I mean, what if you were gifted low basis property ($100 carryover basis) that was worth $150. Seems we’d have non-taxable income of $150. And then, we trade that low-basis property for personal tools worth $150. Now we have a $50 gain we can add into the mix, since that’s included in our AGI. All told, we have $200 we can use for sales tax deduction purposes.

If the gifts are property, then I would not include them.

Well, isn’t cash, property? I’m pretty sure that it is. In tax parlance, cash is often, but not always, referred to as “money.” Money (cash) is property. Everything else is usually, but not always, labeled as “property other than money.” Sometimes it’s labeled “[insert word] other than cash.”

I hesitate to use the word “everything,” as I have done above, but I am comforted by the 31.3401(a)-1 Regulation, which just uses the word “thing”…

If services are paid for in a medium other than cash, the fair market value of the thing taken in payment is the amount to be included as wages.

All told, we have $200 we can use for sales tax deduction purposes.. Excellent double-up!

...I am comforted.... Oh, thank goodness! And on 4/15, too.

"Property" or "money" or "stuff" or "things"... Or "items" as in the "definition" of "income" in Post #2, above. Or maybe "spendable income" that I also saw somewhere.

I'm somewhat pissed off that the IRS would think it could get away with "defining" something as being "...plus [other things], such as the following" without somebody making an issue about it. Like I just did. That's not a functional definition, not by a long shot! However, I compliment their ingenuity!

I'm somewhat pissed off that the IRS would think it could get away with "defining" something as being "...plus [other things], such as the following" without somebody making an issue about it. Like I just did. That's not a functional definition, not by a long shot! However, I compliment their ingenuity! [emphasis added]

Yes, the IRS has no greater goal than "getting away" with vague definitions and pissing you off.

Oh, and its a SAFE HARBOR provision, for heck's sake!! How complicated do you want a safe harbor to be, anyway? Why don't you just tally up your actual sales tax paid if it's that important to you?