Here are some March tax moves that can work for both tax lions aggressively attacking their returns, as well as tax lambs who prefer a more docile approach.

Saving now can make for a better retirement later. The Trump administration is proposing a new retirement vehicle. But the existing Saver’s Credit could help you this tax filing season.

The almost two dozen above-the-line tax deductions get some company this filing season. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act added four below-the-line deductions. And in all cases, the tax breaks are available to eligible taxpayers regardless of whether they itemize or claim the standard deduction.

Married couples share almost everything, including taxes. For most, sharing taxes by filing a joint return is the best tax strategy. Here are six ways married filing jointly can pay off for wedded pairs.

Larger families do get more from the Earned Income Tax Credit. But this valuable tax break also is available to eligible single taxpayers. If you qualify, claim the EITC!

Nobody likes filing a tax return, so why should someone who isn’t legally required to file go ahead and send the IRS a Form 1040? The #1 reason is because it might get you a tax refund. Check it and five other situations where filing, even if you don’t have to, can pay off.

California is among the states that have widened the road to their film and TV tax credits. They all hope tax breaks will drive more productions to their jurisdictions as the entertainment industry continues to evolve.

Take a close look at your 2025 tax return. New tax laws created by the One Big Beautiful Bill could provide you with added savings this filing season. Here are 8 to check out.

These snow-obscured signs aren’t much help, but the ol’ blog, basking unseasonably warm January temperatures here in Central Texas, has some tax guideposts to help to help welcome the new 2026 tax year. (Photo by Christina & Peter)

If you use your car for business travel, your standard mileage deduction rate will increase 2.5 cents per mile in 2026. Other rates, however, will be lower next year.

There’s not much of 2025 left, but you still might be able to make some moves by Dec. 31 that could reduce this year’s tax bill.

Many of us donate old clothes and household goods at year’s end. For some, the charitable gifts can be a tax deduction. But you must follow IRS rules to claim the tax break, including properly valuing your donations.

If you’re planning on parking a new car with a big red bow in your driveway this Christmas, the latest tax reform bill has an added present for you. You might be able to deduct up to $10,000 in loan interest.

Changes are coming in 2026 to charitable tax deductions that could affect your 2025 donation decisions. Check them out to find ways to make charitable gifts pay off now and next year.

Being sick sucks. Having to pay a lot of out-of-pocket medical expenses can make you feel even worse. But if you have a lot of medical and dental costs, you might be able to put them to itemized tax deduction use.

One easy way to cut your tax bill is to claim tax deductions and tax credits. There is a wide variety of these tax breaks, and the amounts generally get annual inflation bumps. Here are 2026’s.

The tax provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act also accelerate the termination dates for a variety of other energy-related tax credits. Many home-related ones end Dec. 31, 2025.

And this is how the amounts were tweaked by the new Republican tax law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Photo by olia danilevich   The senior bonus is one of the new tax breaks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that became law on July 4. It’s not tax-free Social Security benefits that Donald J. Trump promised. But the $6,000 maximum tax break, or $12,000 for married jointly filing couples where each spouse is age 65 or older, will provide some tax relief to the country’s senior citizens. The new tax break is available to taxpayers regardless of whether they itemize or claim the standard deduction. The tax bonus also is age-related, not tied to the federal retirement…

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch Special needs individuals and those who work with them are understandable concerned about many of the changes being made or proposed by the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) henchmen partners. But the Internal Revenue Service, even though it is dealing with its own DOGE issues, is reminding people with disabilities of how an Achieving a Better Life Experience, or ABLE, account can help. The accounts were created in 2014 by the eponymous Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, a federal law that allows states to create tax-advantaged savings programs for eligible…

The standard tax deduction is used by most filers.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) turns 50 this year. The official date is March 29, in case you want to throw a party. The Internal Revenue Service isn’t waiting that long. With tax season 2025 underway, the tax agency again is celebrating this tax benefit created to help lower- and moderate-income workers with the annual Jan. 31 EITC Day. Today marks the beginning of efforts to get the word out to eligible taxpayers and encourage them to take advantage of the EITC. The EITC can be worth from hundreds to thousands of dollars for qualifying filers. While the larger…

This is how inflation affects the standard deduction amounts for 2025.

Higher income taxpayers tend to take the most advantage of tax breaks

These cover adoption costs and assistance, Lifetime Learning Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, educators’ expenses, interest on education loans, and transportation fringe benefits

It’s spring break time for many students. But it’s also time for a refresher on how the tax code can help them (or their parents who are footing at least some university costs) pay for those classes they’re taking a respite from now.

Updated Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 The Tuesday after Thanksgiving has become a popular donation day. The charitable boosting effort, dubbed Giving Tuesday when it was initiated in 2012, is now the unofficial kick-off of the annual end-of-year charitable season. Most people don’t give to good causes because they get tax breaks. Thank goodness for that, since the 2017 tax reform bill made it more difficult to claim a charitable deduction for donations. And that brings us to the first of this post’s six charitable donation tax tips. 1. Itemizing required: The only way to get a tax deduction for your…

It’s one of my most favorite times of the year. Girl Scout cookies are on sale! I’m a Thin Mints addict. I could eat a whole box in one sitting. They are great alone or crumbled over a bowl (or gallon) of vanilla ice cream. This has been a tasty temptation for as long as I can recall. So every year I buy more boxes than I should. I tell myself that the purchase is for a good cause, and it is. Thin Mints and the other varieties of cookies are a fund-raising project for the local Girl Scout troops.…

It’s one of my favorite times of the year: Thin Mint Season! I admit it. I have no willpower when it comes to Thin Mints and any kind of ice cream. I could eat a whole box of these wonderful Girl Scout cookies (ideally crumbled atop a big bowl of creamy vanilla ice cream) in one sitting. So the hubby is the keeper of the GS cookies, storing them on a high shelf in the pantry. And, when we do munch them, guarding the foil sleeve containing the addictive treats. Aside from their scrumptiousness, one of the other great things…