More help for senior taxpayers

Most taxpayers who benefit from itemizing their deductions do so because they have (1) mortgage interest and (2) home property taxes. Seniors (more so than other age groups) live in homes that are paid off... hence, no mortgage interest. To help these taxpayers, Congress passed a new tax provision in the The Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008. This act will allow homeowners, beginning in 2008, to claim an additional standard deduction for property tax if the taxpayer does not itemize. The deduction can be up to $500 for single filers or $1,000 for joint filers. The amount is claimed as an additional amount on top of their standard deduction. So far, the deduction is only available in 2008. However, deductions and government agencies tend to have a long lives, and we don't know what ObamaTax will bring us next year.
http://fasttaxreturnsonline.com/schedulea.html