Tax Tip #1: The initial filing deadline or deadline to extend, for individuals this year is April 17th. The deadline for extended returns is October 15th. An extension to file, is not an extension to pay your tax. Talk to your tax advisor to weigh your options.

Tax Tip #2: If you or your children are in college, remember the various education credits...Lifetime Learning credit and the American Recovery credit. If you were once in school, but sadly are no longer, remember that you student loan interest may be deductible up to $2,500. Your tax advisor can tell you if you qualify.

Tax Tip #3: If you have little ones that you plan on sending to college and want to save on taxes, consider setting up a 529 college savings plan. If your tax advisor is not qualified to do so and you are in the state of California, let's talk.

Tax Tip #4: If you are interested in putting your money away into tax-free vehicles...consider a tax-free bond fund. This should especially be considered if you are in a high tax bracket. If your tax advisor is not qualified to do so and you are in the state of California, let's talk.

Tax Tip #5: Keep receipts for your deductions including charity, business, medical, and other potential deductions. Guessing at the end of the year can cost you money, in deductions, and in penalties and interest to Uncle Sam. If you think you just aren't getting the deductions you deserve, go through your credit card and bank statements to do one last check. If you find something big in those statements, include the deduction in your taxes and ask the company to re-issue a receipt for audit purposes.

Tax Tip #6: Consider a list of any persons to whom you may have contributed living expenses, and ask your tax advisor to consider the dependency rules for each person on the list. If you qualify for head-of-household status you may be in for a surprise...otherwise known as Uncle Sam refunding you more than expected.

Tax Tip #7: If you have self-employment income, review your personal check register and credit card statements to look for any other potential costs related to the business – particularly if you have a separate business bank account. It is often a good idea to use software such as Quicken, QuickBooks, or to regularly use an accountant or bookkeeper. If this is a service in which you are interested, let's talk.

Tax Tip #8: If you're married: Consider “Married-Filing Separate” if one spouse has large medical expenses, other itemized deductions, or casualty losses, or if the spouse's income is about equal. Your tax advisor should be able to see if it is more advantageous for you at the click of a button.

Tax Tip #9: If you moved throughout the year, talk to your tax professional to see if you qualify for the Moving Expense Deduction.

Tax Tip #10: If you work in education, you may be allowed to take a deduction for out-of-pocket expenses used for educating your students. Ask you tax advisor if you qualify.

Tax Tip #11: If you have performed duties as a Qualified Performing Artist or in the Nat'l Guard, make sure that your tax advisor deducts these items for you as an adjustment to your taxable income before Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Basically, you pay tax on what you keep, not what you made.

Tax Tip #12: In some cases, if your 401k/retirement plan provided from a previous job involuntarily distributes your funds, it may be wise to rollover 401k in order to avoid the early withdrawal penalty. If you would like more information regarding this, let's talk.

Tax Tip #13: The minimum outlay requires that you spend more than 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) on medical expenses before you can deduct these expenses. Under 7.5% cannot be deducted. Attempt to bunch medical payments into the same year to exceed the minimum required outlay in order to deduct them.

Tax Tip #14: General Tax Rule - you are > 40 year old choose a Traditional IRA; if you are < 40 years old choose a Roth IRA. I strongly believe in balance. There are short-term and long-term tax advantages and disadvantages to both. Discuss with your tax advisor balancing the advantages and disadvantages. When you retire it may be beneficial to have accumulated savings in both types.

Tax Tip #15: Speak to your tax advisor before choosing the form of business that you will operate under. You may not yet be ready for that Corporation or LLC. On the other hand, you may have outgrown your proprietorship, especially if there was a high amount of self-employment tax.

Tax Tip #16: When deciding whether or not to take early retirement Social Security benefits at age 62 or to wait for full benefits at 65, consider your life expectancy. If you are in poor health and do not expect to live to age 74, discuss the implications of the early retirement program with your tax advisor.

Tax Tip #17: If you are receiving royalties, make sure that all expenses related to the royalties are being captured, such as legal and travel costs.

Tax Tip #18: If you have filed for divorce during this past year, consider the issues related to divorce, including property settlements, alimony, retirement plan allocations, and filing issues.

Tax Tip #19: Self-employed taxpayers may want to consider employing a spouse so that medical expenses are fully deductible as a business owner on Schedule C or F rather than subject to the minimum 7.5% threshold on Schedule A.

Tax Tip #20: If you have had a catastrophic loss , thoroughly document what was lost, including pictures and police reports and provide them to your tax advisor.

Tax Tip #21: Plan to make your sizable charitable donations in years that your income is high.

Tax Tip #22: Ensure that all IRA distributions prior to age 50 ½ are rolled over prior to the 60-day term to avoid the early distribution penalty. It’s even better to do a direct roll-over from the original IRA in order to avoid the 20% withholding and the potential 10% penalty. You can end up with up to a 45% “slap on the wrist.” That's almost half of your savings.

Tax Tip #23: If you or someone close to you is an older and distinguished taxpayer (over 70) and does not plan to withdraw all of his traditional IRA in his/her lifetime, and is at the lower tax rate, he/she may choose to convert it to a Roth IRA if he/she plans to eventually give it to a taxpayer in a higher tax bracket.

Tax Tip #24: For tax reasons, it can be a good idea to consider a home-equity loan to pay off consumer-related debt, such as credit cards and car loans, since the interest on a home-equity loan is typically deductible.

Tax Tip #25: Don't forget to deduct income tax preparation services in the year in which those services were paid. This deduction is often overlooked because it ocurred early in the year.

Tax Tip #26: Maintain a record of all personal car mileage used for business, job, charitable donations, and health-related trips.

Tax Tip #27: If you gamble, make sure you maintain good records of any gambling losses as well as gambling winnings. You never know when you’re going to “hit it big” but when you do, you're going to want to deduct the losses against the income.

Tax Tip #28: When having your taxes prepared in the current year, it's always a good idea to bring your prior year returns to your tax professional. One reason, amongst others, is there may be carry-over items from the prior year, including unused minimum tax credits or losses.

Tax Tip #29: The deadline for corporate tax returns (Forms 1120, 1120A, and 1120S), or to request automatic 6-month extension of time to file (Form 7004) is March 15. It is also the final deadline to file an amended corporate tax return (Form 1120X) for tax year 2007 and still claim a tax refund.

Tax Tip #30: If you fall into the low-income category (AGI between $27k & $55k, depending on filing status) and you can cover your living expenses, it may be wise to contribute to an IRA, 401k, etc. This is one instance where the IRS allows you to double-dip and get tax-deferred retirement savings AND take advantage of the Retirement Saver's Credit.

Tax Tip #31: If you fall into the low-income category for your area, consider purchasing a home by qualifying for the Mortgage Interest Credit.

Tax Tip #32: For high-income earners whose Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is above the phase-out limit for education credits (around $50k to $180k depending on filing status, and the credit taken), consider with your tax advisor shifting the education credits to the child for which the education was paid by not claiming the child as a dependent.

Tax Tip #33: If you qualify for the Earned Income Credit, consider the value of the Advance Earned Income Credit, which will provide money throughout the year, rather than waiting until the tax return is complete.

Tax Tip #34: If you qualify for the Earned Income Credit, except that your investment income exceeds the maximum allowable, consider placing the investment into CD's or taking the principle and funding a Roth IRA or Life Insurance. Interest: a) on CDs is recognized when cashed, b) on Roth grows "tax-free" and c) on insurance is considered "cash-value" but not investment interest.

Tax Tip #35: If you have adopted a child during the tax year, consider the adoption credit with your tax advisor.

Tax Tip #36: Avoid a common taxpayer penalty by providing Social Security numbers for everyone when required on the tax return, including at the top of each form.

Tax Tip #37: Before starting a small business, be aware of the various tax advantages and disadvantages of the different entity types.

Tax Tip #38: In evaluating a business type for your business, consider your level of sophistication and record-keeping. The more sophisticated the business type, for exampe an S Corporation, the more complicated it is to secure tax advantages.

Tax Tip #39: If you are self-employed and find that you have not made sufficient quarterly deposits, and you or your spouse has a regular job, then consider an increase in your W-2 withholding to account for the shortfall. Increasing a quarterly payment in the last quarters could trigger a penalty.

Tax Tip #40: If you maintain an inventory of product samples in your home, you may qualify to deduct expenses related to the part of your home where the inventory samples are kept, as this is an exception to the exclusive-use test.

Tax Tip #41: If you and your spouse are the sole partners in your business, you may employ your children and obtain the same benefits as a proprietorship might.

Tax Tip #42: Rather than transfer personally owned real estate and equipment into a corporation, it is often a good idea to retain ownership of the asset and lease it to the corporation instead.