Each year as the time comes again to prepare and file an income tax return, many people look and look to find the most deductions to reduce the amount of taxes they owe or to increase the amount of their refund. Here is a compilation of some useful but oftentimes overlooked, tax deduction tips that many people can qualify for.

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One of the defining characteristics of the American tax code is that it is specifically designed to encourage behavior that the government believes are productive and desirable. Not surprisingly, this includes higher education which leads to a better educated and more productive society and workplace. Therefore there are a host of different tax credits and deductions that relate to expenses … more

The American tax code is an extremely complex body of laws and regulations that really requires a degree of expertise to get the most out of the opportunities contained within it. Of course people with very simple tax situations do not necessarily need professional assistance, but then again their ability to maximize their refunds or minimize their liabilities is also … more

Like it or not, the American tax system is extremely complex. The tax code alone runs to many thousands of pages and the additional regulations run to many more thousands of pages. The result is one of the most complicated tax systems in the world and many people spend their entire professional careers learning how to handle different aspects of … more

Generally speaking, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does allow tax payers to deduct the costs associated with their tax preparation as a miscellaneous deduction on Schedule A (Itemized Deductions) of the form 1040. However, as is the case with most things related to tax deductions, this deduction does have specific limitations and restrictions. Further, there are new changes that have … more

Prior to 2008, the real estate market was essentially the prime driver of the United States economy after consumer spending. The housing bubble began to burst in 2008 and the subsequent collapse of the housing market continues to be a major problem into 2010 and is project to remain so through 2011 at the earliest. As a consequence, the United … more

It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the American tax system that it can be a rather complicated matter to determine whether or not your child in college can be claimed as a dependent for purposes of your annual tax return. There are a series of factors that have to be taken into account to make this … more

On January 12, 2010, Haiti – already the poorest and least developed country in the Western Hemisphere – was hit by a massive 7.0 Mw earthquake. This resulted in one of the largest humanitarian disasters in recent history, with more than 225,000 people being killed, 300,000 be injured and more than a million people being left … more

The rise of the Internet has resulted in a boom of home businesses, usually based on some sort of Internet related activity. At the same time there has been a proliferation of outfits promoting what the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) defines as “abusive home-based business tax schemes” or schemes that sell the notion that by claiming a home-based business you … more