Please bear with me here as I'm not very experienced with itemized deductions...

Say my 2012 total state tax liability was $5,000 paid as follows:

• $4,500 withheld on my 2012 W-2

• Paid the remaining $500 in 2013 when I filed for 2012

What can I deduct on my 2013 Schedule A (line 5) from the above?

And then if I had another $4,500 State Withholding on my 2013 W-2, is that amount deductible on my 2013 Schedule A?

#1; One of the tax deductions the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows is for state income taxes you pay or state sales taxes, but not both. Use the greater of the two for your itemized deduction. Either check the income tax box on Sch A, Line 5a, if you are claiming state income taxes or the general sales tax on Line 5b if you are claiming state sales taxes. You cannot claim both.
If you live in a state without an income tax, you can still claim the state sales tax deduction. To claim the deduction for state income taxes, you must itemize your deductions on Sch A, which means filing your taxes using Form 1040 and not claiming the standard deduction.
so,, You can deduct one of them; , UNLESS you itemize deductions, you can’t claim your state tax.

SO, you would include that $500 in your total for your 2013 deduction, NOT on your 2012 fed. return.


#2;Then on yur 2013 Fed return on Sch A, you need to include $5K;$4.5K +$500 that you paid in 2013.