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It is that time of year and many of us are probably engaged in thinking up the best ways to save money on your tax return, to pay as little tax as is legally possible.  So what can you do to make sure that the check that uncle Sam sends you by way of a tax refund is the largest that it can be?

Do it yourself: it may seem like a daunting prospect to do your own filing, however when you put your mind to it, filing your own returns is not that difficult and best of all it is free so that it saves you a bunch of money. You can e-file your returns online or you can to print out the forms and mail them in.  This web page is actually a service that will help you; the basic requirement being to fill out a simple form. Turbo Tax helps you file your returns with step by step guidance; another good and helpful site is H & R Block at home.

Claim all the deductions that you are entitled to: It is a common enough belief that if you claim too many deductions you are liable to be audited. However as long as you claim those deductions that you are rightly entitled to claim and you are able to substantiate those claims with requisite documents/receipts, there is no reason to fear an audit. Deductions claimed will reduce one’s total taxable income so that you end up paying tax on a lesser amount. So pay attention to what you can claim as rightfully yours and do so.

For instance you can claim exception on any charitable donations made, you can claim any theft that occurred or if there was a natural disaster that caused loss and damage. Education expenses such as student loan interest as well as expenses incurred to improve or maintain job skills could also be claimed. For those with kids under age 17, the Child Tax Credit can be obtained. First time home owners, or purchasers of new cars are also entitled to claim certain exemptions or tax credits.

Tags: Government, Money Saving // 3 Comments »