• 1). Make a list of all the medical expenses you paid during the last year. This can include doctor's visits, co-pays, prescriptions and treatments, but cannot include your insurance premiums unless you are self-employed, or elective procedures like a nose job (unless there's a medical reason you needed one).
  
  
• 2). Add up the amount of mortgage interest that you paid during the year for which you're filing. Note that you're not adding up your entire mortgage payment -- which covers both principal and interest -- but rather, just your interest.
  
  
• 3). Add the amount of money you repaid in student loans that were in your name -- even if your parents (or someone else) gave you the cash for that repayment. Only do this step if you made less than $70,000 in the year for which you're filing.
  
  (Conversely, if you're a teacher, add up the amount of out-of-pocket money you spent on classroom supplies for which you kept the receipt or otherwise documented. You can deduct a maximum of $250.)
  
  
• 4). Add the amount of charitable donations you made, either in the form of cash or in the form of goods (like your used furniture or used clothes). Only add these numbers if you have a receipt for the donation. (Most charities give receipts that estimate the value of the goods you donated.)
  
  
• 5). Calculate the sum of these four amounts, which will likely be your biggest deductible expenses, and compare them to $5,800 -- the standard deduction for single filers.
  
  If the sum of your itemized calculations is higher than $5,800, or is close to $5,800 (say, if you're at $4,800 already), go to the next section.
  
  If the sum of your itemized calculations is much lower than $5,800, and if you think you won't be able to reach that amount no matter how many other minor deductions you add, list $5,800 on Form 1040 as your standard deduction.
  
  

Calculating the Smaller Exemptions

• 1). Figure out how many miles you drove to reach medical appointments, to volunteer for charities and to go to business meetings if you're self-employed. Only calculate those appointments that are documented -- that is, appointments for which you have some kind of paperwork or electronic paperwork (to prove it's real).
  
  
• 2). Multiply the number of miles you drove by the Internal Revenue Service's mileage rate, which changes every year (see Resources). In 2011, this is 51 cents per mile for business, 19 cents a mile for medical and 14 cents a mile for charity.
  
  
• 3). Look up highlights of that year's tax changes on the IRS website (see Resources). The itemized calculations you make can change every year, so you need to view year-specific information to make sure you're calculating everything you qualify for.
  
  For example, prior to 2007 you could deduct $3,000 for energy-efficiency improvement purchases, like a more efficient dishwasher. From 2007 to 2009 you could not deduct this. Starting in 2009, the IRS began allowing people to deduct this again, but only up to $1,500.