There are numerous opportunities to save money on your personal taxes and personal property taxes. Buying or refinancing a home, contributing to a regular or Roth IRA, investing in higher education, personal property tax, or riding the Wall Street rollercoaster all present you with potential tax exemption breaks. If you become familiar with the rules and keep up with the annual tax and personal property taxes changes, you will be able to take advantage of all the tax exemptions and breaks available to you

Personal Property Tax, Tax Exemption and More

Our discussion of personal income tax preparation is organized into the following topical areas:

• Filing status and tax exemptions explores the basic questions of who must file a tax return, who qualifies as a dependent, and what your options are as to picking a filing status.
• Employment income and related deductions discusses the tax treatment of income reported to employees on W-2 forms, as well as income received by farmers, and various types of miscellaneous income such as unemployment benefits, disability benefits, and gambling winnings. This chapter also discusses tax breaks that may be claimed by employees and the self-employed, including moving expenses, the tax credit for child and dependent care expenses, and miscellaneous tax deductions for employee business expenses.
• Real estate covers the tax benefits of owning a home, such as the itemized deductions for home mortgage interest and real estate taxes. It also addresses the issues that must be faced by investors in real estate, or those who rent out their home or a vacation home for some part of the year. Finally, this chapter discusses recordkeeping for homeowners and the tax consequences of selling a home or other real estate.
• Investments discusses the tax treatment of interest and dividend income; capital gains on investment sales; income from other entities such as estates and trusts, partnerships, LLCs and S corporations; and REMICS. Also discussed are itemized deductions related to investments, and special rules for handling the investment income of a minor child.
• Retirement explains how to report periodic payments from pension and annuity plans, as well as lump-sum distributions and Social Security benefits. It also covers all the rules related to IRAs - both Roth and >traditional - whether you are making contributions or taking distributions.
• Standard and itemized deductions covers the standard deduction as well as itemized deductions not specifically discussed elsewhere: medical and dental expenses, state and local taxes, interest, charitable contributions, casualty and theft losses, and miscellaneous itemized deductions. It also explains the limit on itemized deductions that applies to high-income taxpayers.
• Tax credits and other issues for families deals with some of the latest new tax breaks for individuals: the $1,000-per-child tax credit, tax benefits for adoption, and tax breaks for education. It also covers the credit for the elderly and the disabled, and the earned income credit for low-income families. The tax aspects of alimony and child support are discussed as well.