4 Back-From-the-Dead Tax Breaks for Your 2019 Return

There's a handful of tax breaks you may have heard about that keep coming back from the dead like zombies.

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There's a handful of tax breaks you may have heard about that keep coming back from the dead like zombies. In the tax world, they're collectively referred to as "tax extenders"—every time they expire, Congress jumps in and extends them for another couple of years.

One of the appropriation bills President Trump signed in December 2019 did just that. It revived a number of tax breaks that had expired at the end of 2017. This time, most of them were brought back to life for 2018 to 2020 tax returns only. Four of them, in particular, could save you money on your 2019 tax return, which is due in April. If you can claim them for 2018 as well, go ahead and file an amended return to get a refund.

Kevin McCormally
Chief Content Officer, Kiplinger Washington Editors
McCormally retired in 2018 after more than 40 years at Kiplinger. He joined Kiplinger in 1977 as a reporter specializing in taxes, retirement, credit and other personal finance issues. He is the author and editor of many books, helped develop and improve popular tax-preparation software programs, and has written and appeared in several educational videos. In 2005, he was named Editorial Director of The Kiplinger Washington Editors, responsible for overseeing all of our publications and Web site. At the time, Editor in Chief Knight Kiplinger called McCormally "the watchdog of editorial quality, integrity and fairness in all that we do." In 2015, Kevin was named Chief Content Officer and Senior Vice President.