Tax exemptions reduce your taxable income for the tax year and are divided into two categories: personal exemptions and exemptions for dependents. Each exemption is worth $3,500 for the 2008 tax year, but different rules apply to each type of deduction.

Usually, you can claim one exemption for yourself, one for your spouse if you are married, and one for each dependent if you have children. However, if another taxpayer claims you as a dependent, or is entitled to claim you as a dependent, you are not eligible for a personal tax exemption.

The following list shows the tax exemption effect on your gross income:

Tax Exemptions

Number of Tax Exemptions: Allowed Tax Deduction
1: $3,500 2: $7,000 3: $10,500 4: $14,000 5: $17,500 6: $21,000 7: $24,500 8: $28,000 9: $31,500 10: $35,000 Personal Exemptions

You may generally claim one exemption for yourself if you are a single taxpayer.

If you are married and file a joint return, you may claim one exemption for yourself and one for your spouse. If you file a separate tax return, you are only able to claim your spouse for an exemption if your spouse is not filing a return, has no gross income, and was not the dependent of another taxpayer. If your spouse dies during the tax year, you are generally allowed to claim their tax exemption for the year.

You must be married on the last day of the tax year to claim a tax exemption for your spouse on your tax return, and if you obtain a final divorce or separation decree by December 31st, the last day of the tax year, you may not claim your spouse’s tax exemption.

You may be able to take additional personal exemptions, up to $500 each for a maximum of $2000, for providing housing to victims displaced by tornadoes, storms, or flooding in a Midwestern disaster area.

Exemptions for Dependents

A person may qualify as a dependent, and be eligible for a tax exemption, if they are a Qualifying Child or Qualifying Relative. There are five important tests that an individual must pass in order to be considered a Qualifying Child for a tax exemption:
The child must be your daughter, son, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, sister, half sister, step sister, step brother, or any descendent of the above listed. The child must be either any age and permanently or totally disabled, under the age of 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student, or under the age of 19 at the end of the tax year. The child must have not provided more than half of his or her own support for the year. The child must have lived in your home for more than half of the year. You must be the person who is entitled to claim the child if the dependent is a qualifying child for more than one individual . If your child was born on or before December 31st, and all five of the tax exemption tests are met, then you are eligible to claim the child for a dependency tax exemption on your tax return.

You may also add exemptions for dependents that are Qualifying Relatives. An eligible Qualifying resident must meet the following four requirements:

The person may not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer or your own qualifying child. The person must be related to you in one of the following ways: they may be your child, stepchild, adopted child, grand child, great-grand child, son or daughter in law, father or mother in law, brother or sister in law, parent, brother, sister, grand parent, step-parent, stepbrother or sister, half brother or sister, and, if related by blood, uncle, aunt, niece, or nephew. The person’s gross income for the year must be less than $3,500. You must provide greater than half of the person’s total support for the year. There are many additional rules and qualifications that apply to tax exemptions.

Reductions of Exemptions

The tax deduction for personal exemptions begins to phase out after your adjusted gross income (AGI) reaches a certain limit. If your AGI exceeds the limit, determined by filing status, you must reduce the dollar amount of your exemptions by 2% for each $2,500 that your AGI exceeds the limit set out below. You can only lose up to 50% of your exemptions through phase-out AGI reductions. The AGI income ceilings are listed below and divided by filing status:

Phase-out of Exemptions:
Married Filing Separately $119,975 Single $159,950 Head of Household $199,950 Married Filing Jointly $239,950 Qualifying widow(er) $239,950

The idea comes from Japan:
I sought information on the Italian state, but there is still nothing about it.
But I discovered that the Japanese idea was born from the fact that a large proportion of divorced people, rely on credit cards for expenses arising from the failed marriage.

As a result of this trend Japanese banks have decided to organize and propose a financial product (mortgage) with interest rates below the cards.

The name of the loan is called “King” and identifies a fresh start from scratch, just what people want to do just divorce.
In Italy sooner or later arrive?

Personally I think it is only the first step towards support of those people who are struggling to restart after the failure of the marriage.

Only support the costs of separation may not be enough. It would be more useful to a loan that guarantees an amount of money at subsidized rates, covering the needs for at least 6 months after the ruling. Often the cost of maintaining the partner and the children greatly reduce the income, with the consequences.

A temporary loan could help to stall while you search for a job with more money or perhaps a less expensive accommodation and a car.