Individual Tax Saving Ideas Saving money is always a good thing. But when it comes to your taxes, it can seem like you're stuck paying the amount you are told to pay. However, this is simply not the case. While the tax code is rigid and there are a lot of rules to follow, the truth is that many people don't take the time to learn how the rules work and how they can work to their advantage. Often, there are rules that can help to lower your annual gross income so that you're not only lessening your taxes, but also getting a larger return for that vacation you've always wanted to take. First of all, what you need to realize is that there are two different kinds of deductions that are listed in tax law – deductions and tax credits Deductions are those costs that are subtracted from your gross income on the front side of a tax form before anything else is taken off. These help to lower your tax bracket first along with the standardized deductions that everyone has on their forms. Tax credits are those deductions that come directly off of the amount you are to be taxed. Obviously, these are much more significant and will help to dramatically lower your owed taxes. When you look at a basic 1040 form, which the usual form that most individuals use, you will notice that on the front of the form, you can take deductions for the following: Exemptions That is, those people who are dependent on you. You get a tax break for them. This is generally going to be one or two if you don't have any children (single or married correspond with one and two). You might also reduce the taxes you owe at the end of the year by reducing the exemptions you claim on your initial W-2 form. Instead of claiming '1,' you might want to claim '0.' This maximizes the amount of taxes that are taken from your paycheck. There are also standard deductions that everyone can take. Some of these include:  Single deduction: $5350  Married, filing separately deduction: $5350  Married, filing jointly: $10700  Head of Household: $7850  Widow(er): $10700 Each year these deductions seem to go up and help ease the burden of taxes on everyone in some way. These deductions will go on Schedule A to help reduce your gross income: Medical deductions If you have a lot of medical expenses, you will want to keep receipts and make sure to enter in the totals here. What can and can not be included in this total varies per year, so you will want to check with the IRS to see what the current rules are. These costs can not be something that was reimbursed by your health insurance company or by another else. Taxes that you already paid If you already paid estimated taxes, you will want to make sure that you are listing that total. This can be money that you sent the IRS to help with this section or it can be associated with a business. Home mortgage interest and points If you own a home, you can reduce your income by adding in the interest that you paid on your mortgage. This is taken off along with any points associated with your mortgage value. Grab Your Copy For Only . . . $1.00

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