J.K. Lasser's 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks 2012: Your Complete Guide to Everything Deductible
TurboTax Deluxe Federal + E-file + State 2011 [Download]
J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2012: For Preparing Your 2011 Tax Return
Tax cutting tips you can take advantage of when you prepare your taxes
Whatever your situation is, whether you’re a wage earner, investor, business owner, or a combination of the three, it is to your benefit to use any tax-cutting benefits that are available in today's tax laws. Would you rather have more money in your pocket or pay more to the government. Identifying possible tax-cutting benefits that you can put to use to your advantage is always a smart thing, not just for this year but the coming years too.
We've put together this list to help you identify some possible ways you can get get started with. Check this list to see if there are tax breaks that you could be overlooking.
For Individuals:
- Roth IRA
- Rollover to Roth IRA
- Tax-deductible IRA
- Child tax credit
- Income shifting to children
- Child care credit
- Earned income credit
- Lifetime gifts
- Education savings accounts
- Education expenses
- Hope scholarship credit
- Lifetime learning credit
- Bunching deductions
- Flexible spending accounts
- Health savings account
- Donating appreciated assets instead of cash
- Qualifying property for personal residence gain exclusion
- Best filing status
- Shifting income or deductions from year to year
- Adoption expense credit
For Investors:
- Tax-free municipal bonds
- Long-term capital gains and dividends
- Rental property
- Tax-free exchange
- Low-income housing credit
- Small business stock rollover
For Businesses:
- Home office deduction
- Keogh plan
- SIMPLE plan
- SEP
- 401k plan
- First year expensing of business equipment
- Bonus depreciation
- Year-end bonuses
- Bad debt write-off
- Disabled access credit
- Other business tax credits
- Tax-free exchange
