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Line 5a You can elect to deduct state and local general sales taxes instead of state and local in- come taxes. You can't deduct both. State and Local Income Taxes If you don't elect to deduct general sales taxes, include on line 5a the state and lo- cal income taxes listed next. • State and local income taxes with- held from your salary during 2018. Your Form(s) W-2 will show these amounts. Forms W-2G, 1099-G, 1099-R, and 1099-MISC may also show state and lo- cal income taxes withheld. • State and local income taxes paid in 2018 for a prior year, such as taxes paid with your 2017 state or local in- come tax return. Don't include penalties or interest. • State and local estimated tax pay- ments made during 2018, including any part of a prior year refund that you chose to have credited to your 2018 state or lo- cal income taxes. • Mandatory contributions you made to the California, New Jersey, or New York Nonoccupational Disability Bene- fit Fund, Rhode Island Temporary Disa- bility Benefit Fund, or Washington State Supplemental Workmen's Compensation Fund. • Mandatory contributions to the Alaska, California, New Jersey, or Penn- sylvania state unemployment fund. • Mandatory contributions to state family leave programs, such as the New Jersey Family Leave Insurance (FLI) program and the California Paid Family Leave program. Don't reduce your deduction by any: • State or local income tax refund or credit you expect to receive for 2018, or • Refund of, or credit for, prior year state and local income taxes you actually received in 2018. Instead, see the in- structions for Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 10. State and Local General Sales Taxes If you elect to deduct state and local general sales taxes instead of income taxes, you must check the box on line 5a. To figure your state and local general sales tax deduction, you can use CAUTION ! either your actual expenses or the op- tional sales tax tables. Actual Expenses Generally, you can deduct the actual state and local general sales taxes (in- cluding compensating use taxes) you paid in 2018 if the tax rate was the same as the general sales tax rate. Food, clothing, and medical supplies. Sales taxes on food, clothing, and medi- cal supplies are deductible as a general sales tax even if the tax rate was less than the general sales tax rate. Motor vehicles. Sales taxes on motor vehicles are deductible as a general sales tax even if the tax rate was different than the general sales tax rate. However, if you paid sales tax on a motor vehicle at a rate higher than the general sales tax, you can deduct only the amount of the tax that you would have paid at the gen- eral sales tax rate on that vehicle. In- clude any state and local general sales taxes paid for a leased motor vehicle. Motor vehicles include cars, motor- cycles, motor homes, recreational vehi- cles, sport utility vehicles, trucks, vans, and off-road vehicles. You must keep your actual re- ceipts showing general sales taxes paid to use this method. Trade or business items. Don't include sales taxes paid on items used in your trade or business. Instead, go to the in- structions for the form you are using to report business income and expenses to see if you can deduct these taxes. Refund of general sales taxes. If you received a refund of state or local gener- al sales taxes in 2018 for amounts paid in 2018, reduce your actual 2018 state and local general sales taxes by this amount. If you received a refund of state or local general sales taxes in 2018 for prior year purchases, don't reduce your 2018 state and local general sales taxes by this amount. However, if you deduc- ted your actual state and local general sales taxes in the earlier year and the de- duction reduced your tax, you may have to include the refund in income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 21. See Recoveries in Pub. 525 for details. Optional Sales Tax Tables Instead of using your actual expenses, you can use the 2018 Optional State CAUTION ! Sales Tax Table and the 2018 Optional Local Sales Tax Tables at the end of these instructions to figure your state and local general sales tax deduction. You may also be able to add the state and local general sales taxes paid on cer- tain specified items. To figure your state and local general sales tax deduction using the tables, complete the State and Local General Sales Tax Deduction Worksheet or use the Sales Tax Deduction Calculator at IRS.gov/SalesTax. If your filing status is married filing separately, both you and your spouse elect to deduct sales taxes, and your spouse elects to use the optional sales tax tables, you al- so must use the tables to figure your state and local general sales tax deduc- tion. Instructions for the State and Local General Sales Tax Deduction Worksheet Line 1. If you lived in the same state for all of 2018, enter the applicable amount, based on your 2018 income and family size, from the 2018 Optional State Sales Tax Table for your state. Read down the “At least–But less than” columns for your state and find the line that includes your 2018 income. If mar- ried filing separately, don't include your spouse's income. Note. The family size column refers to the number of dependents listed on page 1 of Form 1040 (and any continua- tion sheets) plus you and, if you are fil- ing a joint return, your spouse. If you are married and not filing a joint return, you can include your spouse in family size only in certain circumstances, which are described in Pub. 501. Income. Your 2018 income is the amount shown on your Form 1040, line 7, plus any nontaxable items, such as the following. • Tax-exempt interest. • Veterans' benefits. • Nontaxable combat pay. • Workers' compensation. • Nontaxable part of social security and railroad retirement benefits. • Nontaxable part of IRA, pension, or annuity distributions. Don't include rollovers. CAUTION ! A-4