Tax Credit

Nobody likes paying the IRS, and we all wish there were just a few more deductions we could swing without arousing the taxman's ire. And there are: Here are a few deductions that, while they might seem to be a little out of bounds, are totally legal.

There's a popular tax break out there that paid more than 26 million workers a total of nearly $59 billion last year. Yet as many as 1 in 4 of those who qualify for this tax credit failed to claim it, missing out on hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars. That break is the earned income tax credit.

For many households, it's a personal fiance dilemma: Should they try to pay down debt first, or build up savings? In the aftermath of the Great Recession, opinions have clearly tipped toward the ditch-your-debt side. But that's not always the right answer.

These days, almost everyone is looking for more ways to save money. What if you could save money and get a tax break for doing it? Under the ramped-up Retirement Savings Contribution Credit, sometimes called the Savers Credit, you can. If you make qualifying contributions to an IRA, 401(k) and...

If you think you may have missed out on energy tax credits because you didn't get to those energy-saving improvements on your 2010 to-do list, think again. When President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 last December, the benefits...

It has become clear to politicians and scientists that corn-based ethanol isn't the solution for creating a home-grown fuel source. Enter "cellulosic ethanol," made from wood chips, weeds or algae. Could it be the fuel of the future?

The automaker has licensed technology from the Energy Department's Argonne National Laboratory that will boost the performance of lithium-ion battery cells for its electric Chevy Volt. The next-generation power packs will be made at a new plant in Michigan by Korea's LG Chem.

Some parts of the country are still digging out from the recent nor'easter -- and winter is only a few weeks old. With heating costs soaring as the temperatures dip, it's a great time to think about ways to become more energy efficient, which may even include the purchase of home improvements meant...

The tax cut compromise between Obama and the GOP is now being touted as a back-door stimulus plan, one that some economists predict will create or save 3.1 million jobs. Unfortunately, the model on which those forecasts are based makes some flawed assumptions.

Speaking in Cleveland, President Obama laid out the details of his plan to boost the economic recovery: $50 billion for infrastructure spending; a $100 billion R&D tax credit; and $200 billion to induce U.S. companies to make capital improvements now rather than later.