Homeowner who itemizes deductions
Mortgage interest, property taxes, and charitable gifts on Schedule A. Deciding when itemizing beats the standard deduction.
Taxpayer facts
Who this is and what their year looked like.
Gregory is single, 52, and owns his home in Naples, Florida. He has a solid salary, a mortgage, and gives regularly to charity.
This year he wants to know whether to itemize or take the standard deduction. He has one W-2 and a mortgage interest statement, and he kept his charity receipts.
- NameGregory P. Nolan
- Date of birth01/28/1973
- SSN263-44-9018
- Age (as of 12/31/2025)52
- Filing statusSingle
- DependentsNone
- OccupationRegional sales director
- Address780 Gulf Shore Blvd N, Naples, FL 34102
- ResidencyFlorida, full year (no state income tax)
Source documents
Work from these the way you would a real client's paperwork. Everything is fictional.
Objectives
What a correct return should capture.
- Report the W-2 wages.
- Recognize that a Florida resident has no state income tax to deduct on Schedule A line 5a, and claim the state and local general sales tax deduction instead, using the IRS optional sales tax tables.
- Add up itemized deductions on Schedule A: mortgage interest, state and local taxes (property tax plus the sales tax table amount, within the SALT cap), and charitable gifts (cash and donated goods).
- Compare the Schedule A total to the 2025 single standard deduction ($15,750) and take the larger.
- Report the donated goods on Form 8283 Section A, which is required once noncash gifts exceed $500.
- Pick the tax method: if taxable income is under $100,000, use the tax tables.
- Reconcile withholding to the refund or balance due.
Check your work
The answer key and the complete return, the way a real client receives it: the 1040 and its schedules, the workpapers behind every number, and the signature forms.
Stuck? Work through it with Yehuda
A one-on-one, 30-minute tutoring session on this return with Yehuda Tenenbaum, EA. Bring the spot where you got stuck and we will work through it together: how the forms connect, why a figure lands where it does, and how to check your work. $250. This is education on the practice return, not advice on your own taxes.