ItemizedDeductions

When it comes to claiming deductions on your federal income tax return, a deduction is a deduction, right? Not exactly. Believe it or not, all deductions are not equal come tax time. Some deductions are bigger bangs for the buck than others. Here's a quick guide to figuring out which tax deductions...

The national unemployment rate stands at a whopping 10% -- higher than it has been for years. Despite all the talk in Washington about creating new jobs, the outlook is pretty scary: When the economy was recovering from the 2001 recession, it took two years to reduce the unemployment rate by nearly...

If you itemize your deductions, you can deduct home mortgage interest on Schedule A of Form 1040. Qualified mortgage interest includes interest on a loan secured by your main home or second home. The loan can be a mortgage or a home equity loan.In order for you to deduct the interest, though, you...

It's no secret that parts of our horribly complicated tax code have been invented (in part) to encourage or discourage certain behaviors. One of the "encouraged" behaviors is home ownership.Along with home ownership comes the potential to itemize your deductions on your personal income tax return,...

Experts will tell you not to run up the balance on your credit cards because you will pay dearly when it comes time to calculate the interest. But the fact is that many consumers do have credit card debt that is carried over from month to month.Here's a way to reduce your taxes and probably save...