For 2009, personal exemptions and standard deductions will rise and tax brackets will widen because of inflation adjustments announced by the Internal Revenue Service. By law, the dollar amounts for a variety of tax provisions must be revised each year to keep pace with inflation. As a result, more than three dozen tax benefits, affecting virtually every taxpayer, are being adjusted for 2009.

Key changes affecting 2009 returns, filed by most taxpayers in early 2010, include the following:

• The value of each personal and dependency exemption, available to most taxpayers, is $3,650, up $150 from 2008.
• The new standard deduction is $11,400 for married couples filing a joint return (up $500), $5,700 for singles and married individuals filing separately (up $250) and $8,350 for heads of household (up $350). Nearly two out of three taxpayers take the standard deduction, rather than itemizing deductions, such as mortgage interest, charitable contributions and state and local taxes.
• Tax-bracket thresholds increase for each filing status. For a married couple filing a joint return, for example, the taxable-income threshold separating the 15-percent bracket from the 25-percent bracket is $67,900, up from $65,100 in 2008.
• The maximum earned income tax credit for low and moderate income workers and working families with two or more children is $5,028, up from $4,824. The income limit for the credit for joint return filers with two or more children is $43,415, up from $41,646.
• The annual gift exclusion rises to $13,000, up from $12,000 in 2008.

Source: Internal Revenue Service

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The study provides several different views of travel taxes to help readers make informed choices. The top 50 markets are ranked by overall travel tax burden, including general sales tax and discriminatory travel taxes, and by discriminatory travel tax burden, excluding general sales taxes to count only taxes that target car rentals, hotel stays and meals. (Discriminatory travel taxes are those imposed specifically on travel services above and beyond general sales taxes.)

Separate data are offered for central city and airport locations, as the tax regimes are often distinct. In addition to combined data on car rental, hotel and meal taxes, separate data are provided for each of the three spend categories.

U.S. cities where travelers incur the lowest total tax burden in central city locations
(factoring in general sales taxes and discriminatory travel taxes for lodging, car rentals, and meals):
1. Honolulu, HI $21.45/day
2. Portland, OR $22.83/day
3. Fort Lauderdale, FL $23.35/day
3. Fort Myers, FL $23.35/day
5. West Palm Beach, FL $24.67/day

The cities that impose the highest total taxes on travelers are:
1. Chicago, IL $42.44/day
2. Nashville, TN $39.55/day
3. Charlotte, NC $38.80/day
4. Seattle, WA $38.70/day
5. Houston, TX $37.62/day

The U.S. cities with the lowest discriminatory travel tax rates for lodging, car rentals, and meals in central city locations are:
1. Oakland, CA $7.58/day
2. West Palm Beach, FL $7.62/day
2. Fort Lauderdale, FL $7.62/day
2. Fort Myers, FL $7.62/day
5. Orange County, CA $8.10/day

The cities that impose the highest discriminatory travel taxes on travelers for lodging, car rentals, and meals are:
1. Portland, OR $22.83/day
2. Seattle, WA $21.64/day
3. Atlanta, GA $19.82/day
4. Charlotte, NC $19.78/day
5. Chicago, IL $18.83/day

For the full report, visit the NBTA site.

Source: Business Wire

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