The 17 Most Overlooked Tax Breaks
After the cheer and joy of the holidays, love fills the air during Valentine's Day. Then before we know it, it's St. Patrick's Day, followed closely by colored eggs and the Easter Bunny. Unfortunately, the next holiday is not as fun: Tax Day. Usually falling sometime in mid-April, Tax Day is the term for the deadline individual income tax returns are due to the US federal government.
Since 1955, those living, working and therefore filing taxes in the US have had to gather up all their tax documents and pay stubs summarizing their income earned in the previous year before Tax Day. However, the government usually starts accepting tax returns starting in January.
Even though we had to take algebra and world history in high school, personal finance was rarely in the curriculum. In other words, filing tax returns ain't always easy for most people. So here are 17 overlooked tax breaks that may save you some cash.
Donations to Charity
Hey, Good Samaritans! Good news! Besides helping others and our community be better, it turns out being altruistic can benefit our tax return. Charitable contributions can be claimed as deductions as long as we have our receipts. This applies to more than just cash donations, including gas from driving to and from the soup kitchen and any items we donated.
Money Spent Job-Hunting
Job hunting is never fun -- but at least we can get some tax benefits out of it. People who looked for a new job in same industry as the current or most recently held job can write off anything spent during the hunt. This includes transportation, printing costs, and business cards.
Child Care Services
Having young children and working a job is a difficult task and sometimes we have to enlist external help. Enter the godsend of child care. Tax credits can take care of up to 35% of our child care costs.
Jury Duty Income
Sometimes duty calls -- jury duty that is. While sitting in court for sometimes days on end isn't exactly everyone's idea of fun, we can get a tax break out of it. We can deduct the income we missed out on while serving on the jury, if our employer did not pay us.
Being a Full-Time College Student
Being a full-time college student sure isn't easy. Thankfully, there are tax breaks! The American Opportunity Credit covers the first $2,000 we spend on college expenses. They'll cover up to $2,500 per year if we make less than $80,000 if single or $160,000 if married.
Professional Development
Learning doesn't stop when we leave school. If we took professional development classes to further our job skills, then we may be eligible for the Lifetime Learning Credit. If we qualify, which is based on our income, we can get 20% of those expenses covered.
Telecommuting
Telecommuting is becoming more popular. Those who work from home may get some tax breaks, such as itemizing a home office. However, this has to be legit and our principal place of work, so just because we sometimes write a few emails from our den doesn't mean it's a home office.