Tax refund

Unless you've filed for an extension, today is the last day to get your taxes turned in to the IRS. It also happens to be Tax Freedom Day, when the average American has worked enough days to have paid all their taxes for the year.

It's hard to save, especially when times are tough. But when you get a tax refund check, you've essentially set up an IRS-sponsored savings plan. By overpaying your taxes a little bit every month, you build up a slush fund that you collect on every April. So since you've already saved it, why not...

Nearly 6 out of 10 U.S. consumers will be getting a tax refund this year, but the majority of those won't be using it as an excuse to go shopping: Instead, they'll stash it away or pay credit card bills, according to new survey by PriceGrabber.com. The survey by the online shopping site, which...

Having your taxes done is never fun, so it's no surprise that many people postpone filing their returns. But there's a price to pay for putting off your date with the IRS: Procrastinators tend to spend more on the process.

You may see your tax refund check as a choice between a crazy splurge and responsible saving. But you could also put that money to work for you less conventionally. Here are five good ways to spend $1,000 of your April windfall that you might not have considered.

As IRS checks start to pour in around the country, you'll soon hear a chorus of financial advisers telling you why getting a tax refund is a bad thing -- because it means you gave an interest-free loan to Uncle Sam. But at least for right now, that isn't a such big deal.

Your taxes are filed and done. Victory dance? Actually, hold on. There's one more step you should take, whether you got a big refund or owed Uncle Sam a big check: It's time to take another look at your withholding.

Chalk it up to the nation's lingering economic malaise: More Americans this year plan to sock some of their tax refund away in savings. If you're among them, here are a few smart ways to stash that cash.

As many as 60 million Americans have limited or no access to banking services, and many of them will get tax refunds this spring. Typically, this is where payday lenders come in, cashing the checks for big fees, but now there's a new cashier offering to do it for much less: Walmart.

Over the years, taxpayers have concocted a lot of zany arguments to justify tax deductions. We've come up with what we think are the 10 most creative ones that the tax courts decided didn't quite pass muster.