3 Deductions — Above the Line (Adjustments to Income)

U.S. Tax Law Fundamentals · 4:52

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Lyrics

[Verse 1]
When you're working for yourself, section one-six-two
Business costs and travel help reduce what's owed by you
Office rent and supplies, meetings with your crew
These deductions come first, before we're halfway through

[Chorus]
Above the line, before we calculate
These adjustments help reduce your rate
Business costs and student loans too
HSA and IRA for you
Above the line, they're first in line
Making your taxable income shine

[Verse 2]
Teachers spending their own cash, up to three hundred max
Classroom supplies and books, the IRS gives back
Health Savings Account, triple tax advantage sweet
Student loan interest paid, makes your burden incomplete

[Chorus]
Above the line, before we calculate
These adjustments help reduce your rate
Business costs and student loans too
HSA and IRA for you
Above the line, they're first in line
Making your taxable income shine

[Verse 3]
IRA contributions, traditional saves you now
Retirement planning early, Uncle Sam will allow
Self-employment tax burden, take half off the top
Social Security payments, let that deduction drop

[Bridge]
Alimony from old divorces, before twenty-nineteen
Moving costs for military, active duty scene
These adjustments come early, in the tax return flow
Reducing your income, before the brackets show

[Chorus]
Above the line, before we calculate
These adjustments help reduce your rate
Business costs and student loans too
HSA and IRA for you
Above the line, they're first in line
Making your taxable income shine

[Outro]
From gross income we start, then adjustments apply
Above the line deductions, help your taxes fly by
Remember these come first, in the calculation game
Above the line adjustments, learn each one by name

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