tax credits

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.

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.

Although the end of 2011 is near, it's not too late to make sure you don't owe more to the IRS than you need to on April 15. Here are some tax-smart moves to make before you head out to that New Year's Eve party.

They say good things come to those who wait. They also say he who hesitates is lost. But when it comes to half a dozen juicy tax breaks, it's the second "they" you should listen to, because he who waits until Jan. 1, 2012, to take advantage of them will be out of luck.

Years ago, the fellow running the IRS told Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine that he figured millions of taxpayers overpaid their taxes every year by overlooking just one of these deductions. Don't be one of those millions: Read on, and find out how to cut your tax bill to the bone.

While the pains and pressures of this year's tax season are fresh in your mind, give some thought to next April 15. Here are five tips from the personal finance pros for making next year's tax filing season less stressful and more monetarily rewarding.

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...

Each year, a few well-known tax credits seem to make news. In 2010, those credits included the housing credit, the energy tax credit, and the popular Making Work Pay Credit. At the same time, other lesser-known credits barely get a nod. Credits are, in most cases, even better than deductions,...

Tax credits are popular ways to reduce your overall tax burden. Credits are dollar for dollar reductions in the amount of tax due, so it's a pretty big bang for your buck. Here are five of the most common tax credits: 1. Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses. The credit for child and...

Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have been granted a combined $2.1 billion in tax breaks to invest in 17 new projects in Michigan, the state's economic development agency said Tuesday.