• Federal income and excise taxes.
• Social security, Medicare, federal unemployment (FUTA), and railroad retirement (RRTA) taxes.
• Customs duties.
• Federal estate and gift taxes. But see the instructions for line 28 on page A-10.
• Certain state and local taxes, including: tax on gasoline, car inspection fees, assessments for sidewalks or other improvements to your property, tax you paid for someone else, and license fees (marriage, driver's, dog, etc.).

If you deduct state and local income taxes, check box a on line 5. Include on this line the state and local income taxes listed below.

• State and local income taxes withheld from your salary during 2008. Your Form(s) W-2 will show these amounts. Forms W-2G, 1099-G, 1099-R, and 1099-MISC may also show state and local income taxes withheld.
• State and local income taxes paid in 2008 for a prior year, such as taxes paid with your 2007 state or local income tax return. Do not include penalties or interest.
• State and local estimated tax payments made during 2008, including any part of a prior year refund that you chose to have credited to your 2008 state or local income taxes.
• Mandatory contributions you made to the California, New Jersey, or New York Nonoccupational Disability Benefit Fund, Rhode Island Temporary Disability Benefit Fund, or Washington State Supplemental Workmen's Compensation Fund.
• Mandatory contributions to the Alaska, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania state unemployment fund.

Do not reduce your deduction by any:

• State or local income tax refund or credit you expect to receive for 2008, or
• Refund of, or credit for, prior year state and local income taxes you actually received in 2008. Instead, see the instructions for Form 1040, line 10.

If you elect to deduct state and local general sales taxes, you must check box b on line 5. To figure your deduction, you can use either your actual expenses or the optional sales tax tables.

Generally, you can deduct the actual state and local general sales taxes (including compensating use taxes) you paid in 2008 if the tax rate was the same as the general sales tax rate. However, sales taxes on food, clothing, medical supplies, and motor vehicles are deductible as a general sales tax even if the tax rate was less than the general sales tax rate. If you paid sales tax on a motor vehicle at a rate higher than the general sales tax rate, you can deduct only the amount of tax that you would have paid at the general sales tax rate on that vehicle. Motor vehicles include cars, motorcycles, motor homes, recreational vehicles, sport utility vehicles, trucks, vans, and off-road vehicles. Also include any state and local general sales taxes paid for a leased motor vehicle. Do not include sales taxes paid on items used in your trade or business.

If you received a refund of state or local general sales taxes in 2008 for amounts paid in 2008, reduce your actual 2008 state and local general sales taxes by this amount. If you received a refund of state or local general sales taxes in 2008 for prior year purchases, do not reduce your 2008 state and local general sales taxes by this amount. But if you deducted your actual state and local general sales taxes in the earlier year and the deduction reduced your tax, you may have to include the refund in income on Form 1040, line 21. See Recoveries in Pub. 525 for details.

Instead of using your actual expenses, you can use the tables on pages A-11 through A-13 to figure your state and local general sales tax deduction. You may also be able to add the state and local general sales taxes paid on certain specified items.

To figure your state and local general sales tax deduction using the tables, complete the worksheet on page A-4 or use the 2008 Sales Tax Deduction Calculator on the IRS website. To use the 2008 Sales Tax Deduction Calculator, go to www.irs.gov and enter Sales tax deduction calculator in the search box.

If you lived in the same state for all of 2008, enter the applicable amount, based on your 2008 income and exemptions, from the optional state sales tax table for your state on page A-11 or A-12. Read down the At least–But less than columns for your state and find the line that includes your 2008 income. If married filing separately, do not include your spouse's income. Your 2008 income is the amount shown on your Form 1040, line 38, 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. Do not include rollovers.
• Public assistance payments.

The exemptions column refers to the number of exemptions claimed on Form 1040, line 6d.

If you lived in more than one state during 2008, look up the table amount for each state using the above rules. If there is no table for your state, the table amount is considered to be zero. Multiply the table amount for each state you lived in by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the number of days you lived in the state during 2008 and the denominator is the total number of days in the year (366). Enter the total of the prorated table amounts for each state on line 1. However, if you also lived in a locality during 2008 that imposed a local general sales tax, do not enter the total on line 1. Instead, complete a separate worksheet for each state you lived in and enter the prorated amount for that state on line 1.

You lived in State A from January 1 through August 31, 2008 (244 days), and in State B from September 1 through December 31, 2008 (122 days). The table amount for State A is $500. The table amount for State B is $400. You would figure your state general sales tax as follows.

State A:	$500 x 244/366 =		$333
State B:	$400 x 122/366 =		133
Total	=		$466

If none of the localities in which you lived during 2008 imposed a local general sales tax, enter $466 on line 1 of your worksheet. Otherwise, complete a separate worksheet for State A and State B. Enter $333 on line 1 of the State A worksheet and $133 on line 1 of the State B worksheet.

If you checked the No box, enter -0- on line 2, and go to line 3. If you checked the Yes box and lived in the same locality for all of 2008, enter the applicable amount, based on your 2008 income and exemptions, from the optional local sales tax table for your locality on page A-13. Read down the At least–But less than columns for your locality and find the line that includes your 2008 income. See the line 1 instructions on this page to figure your 2008 income. The exemptions column refers to the number of exemptions claimed on Form 1040, line 6d.

If you lived in more than one locality during 2008, look up the table amount for each locality using the above rules. If there is no table for your locality, the table amount is considered to be zero. Multiply the table amount for each locality you lived in by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the number of days you lived in the locality during 2008 and the denominator is the total number of days in the year (366). If you lived in more than one locality in the same state and the local general sales tax rate was the same for each locality, enter the total of the prorated table amounts for each locality in that state on line 2. Otherwise, complete a separate worksheet for lines 2 through 6 for each locality and enter each prorated table amount on line 2 of the applicable worksheet.

You lived in Locality 1 from January 1 through August 31, 2008 (244 days), and in Locality 2 from September 1 through December 31, 2008 (122 days). The table amount for Locality 1 is $100. The table amount for Locality 2 is $150. You would figure the amount to enter on line 2 as follows. Note that this amount may not equal your local sales tax deduction, which is figured on line 6 of the worksheet.

Locality 1:	$100 x 244/366 =		$ 67
Locality 2:	$150 x 122/366 =		50
Total	=		$117

If you lived in California, check the No box if your combined state and local general sales tax rate is 7.25%. Otherwise, check the Yes box and include on line 3 only the part of the combined rate that is more than 7.25%.

If you lived in Nevada, check the No box if your combined state and local general sales tax rate is 6.5%. Otherwise, check the Yes box and include on line 3 only the part of the combined rate that is more than 6.5%.

If you checked the Yes box and your local general sales tax rate changed during 2008, figure the rate to enter on line 3 as follows. Multiply each tax rate for the period it was in effect by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the number of days the rate was in effect during 2008 and the denominator is the total number of days in the year (366). Enter the total of the prorated tax rates on line 3.

Locality 1 imposed a 1% local general sales tax from January 1 through September 30, 2008 (274 days). The rate increased to 1.75% for the period from October 1 through December 31, 2008 (92 days). You would enter 1.189 on line 3, figured as follows.

January 1 – September 30:	1.00 x 274/366 =		0.749
October 1 – December 31:	1.75 x  92/366 =		0.440
Total	=		1.189

Complete a separate worksheet for lines 2 through 6 for each locality in your state if you lived in more than one locality in the same state during 2008 and either of the following applies.

• Each locality did not have the same local general sales tax rate.
• You lived in Los Angeles County, CA.

To figure the amount to enter on line 3 of the worksheet for each locality in which you lived (except a locality for which you used the table on page A-13 to figure your local general sales tax deduction), multiply the local general sales tax rate by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the number of days you lived in the locality during 2008 and the denominator is the total number of days in the year (366).

You lived in Locality 1 from January 1 through August 31, 2008 (244 days), and in Locality 2 from September 1 through December 31, 2008 (122 days). The local general sales tax rate for Locality 1 is 1%. The rate for Locality 2 is 1.75%. You would enter 0.667 on line 3 for the Locality 1 worksheet and 0.583 for the Locality 2 worksheet, figured as follows.

Locality 1:	1.00 x 244/366 =		0.667
Locality 2:	1.75 x 122/366 =		0.583

If you lived in more than one locality in the same state during 2008, you should have completed line 1 only on the first worksheet for that state and separate worksheets for lines 2 through 6 for any other locality within that state in which you lived during 2008. If you checked the Yes box on line 6 of any of those worksheets, multiply line 5 of that worksheet by the amount that you entered on line 1 for that state on the first worksheet.

Enter on line 7 any state and local general sales taxes paid on the following specified items. If you are completing more than one worksheet, include the total for line 7 on only one of the worksheets.

1. A motor vehicle (including a car, motorcycle, motor home, recreational vehicle, sport utility vehicle, truck, van, and off-road vehicle). Also include any state and local general sales taxes paid for a leased motor vehicle. If the state sales tax rate on these items is higher than the general sales tax rate, only include the amount of tax you would have paid at the general sales tax rate.
2. An aircraft or boat, if the tax rate was the same as the general sales tax rate.
3. A home (including a mobile home or prefabricated home) or substantial addition to or major renovation of a home, but only if the tax rate was the same as the general sales tax rate and any of the following applies.
   1. Your state or locality imposes a general sales tax directly on the sale of a home or on the cost of a substantial addition or major renovation.
   2. You purchased the materials to build a home or substantial addition or to perform a major renovation and paid the sales tax directly.
   3. Under your state law, your contractor is considered your agent in the construction of the home or substantial addition or the performance of a major renovation. The contract must state that the contractor is authorized to act in your name and must follow your directions on construction decisions. In this case, you will be considered to have purchased any items subject to a sales tax and to have paid the sales tax directly.

Do not include sales taxes paid on items used in your trade or business. If you received a refund of state or local general sales taxes in 2008, see Refund of general sales taxes on page A-3.

Include taxes (state, local, or foreign) you paid on real estate you own that was not used for business, but only if the taxes are based on the assessed value of the property. Also, the assessment must be made uniformly on property throughout the community, and the proceeds must be used for general community or governmental purposes. Pub. 530 explains the deductions homeowners can take.

Do not include the following amounts on line 6.

• Itemized charges for services to specific property or persons (for example, a $20 monthly charge per house for trash collection, a $5 charge for every 1,000 gallons of water consumed, or a flat charge for mowing a lawn that had grown higher than permitted under a local ordinance).
• Charges for improvements that tend to increase the value of your property (for example, an assessment to build a new sidewalk). The cost of a property improvement is added to the basis of the property. However, a charge is deductible if it is used only to maintain an existing public facility in service (for example, a charge to repair an existing sidewalk, and any interest included in that charge).

If your mortgage payments include your real estate taxes, you can deduct only the amount the mortgage company actually paid to the taxing authority in 2008.

If you sold your home in 2008, any real estate tax charged to the buyer should be shown on your settlement statement and in box 5 of any Form 1099-S you received. This amount is considered a refund of real estate taxes. See Refunds and rebates below. Any real estate taxes you paid at closing should be shown on your settlement statement.

If you received a refund or rebate in 2008 of real estate taxes you paid in 2008, reduce your deduction by the amount of the refund or rebate. If you received a refund or rebate in 2008 of real estate taxes you paid in an earlier year, do not reduce your deduction by this amount. Instead, you must include the refund or rebate in income on Form 1040, line 21, if you deducted the real estate taxes in the earlier year and the deduction reduced your tax. See Recoveries in Pub. 525 for details on how to figure the amount to include in income.

Enter the state and local personal property taxes you paid, but only if the taxes were based on value alone and were imposed on a yearly basis.

You paid a yearly fee for the registration of your car. Part of the fee was based on the car's value and part was based on its weight. You can deduct only the part of the fee that was based on the car's value.

If you had any deductible tax not listed on line 5, 6, or 7, list the type and amount of tax. Enter only one total on line 8. Include on this line income tax you paid to a foreign country or U.S. possession.