Always be aware of tax advice used to sell you something. Yes, you can deduct sales tax. OR you can deduct the CA income tax you paid. However, you cannot deduct both and most people in California spend a lot more on income tax than they do on sales tax. Also, it only matters if you itemize and many people who do not have a home, and thus no mortgage interest and property tax deductions, do not.
Call your tax preparer – it should take them about 30 seconds to tell you if you will take the sales tax deduction on a large purchase over the income tax paid deduction on all your income tax or if you even want deductions at all. My guess is 90% of the time it won’t help you and should not be part of your buying decision.
