What would you do if you were told that the government could give you money for having paid more than necessary on your taxes? And if you forgot to report some income that could cost you more money, would you like to avoid it? Of course you would. To avoid paying more than necessary, it’s recommended you seek advice from an accountant or licensed tax assessor—experts on tax law and procedures. Consider all of the deductions you qualify for and take advantage of fiscal credits at your disposal. It’s not about turning ourselves into experts of tax code, but in guardians of the money we earn with sacrifice.

The fiscal credits and deductions are two ways of reducing their invoices on taxes on their income. The tax deductions reduce how much you owe in taxes, by decreasing your income and moving you to a lower tax scale. To take advantage of deductions, the contributor must make a detailed list of their tax statement. The fiscal credits are calculated after you determine your tax scale and how much you owe in taxes. A fiscal credit is a dollar by dollar reduction in the amount of the tax that you owe, and it is available to the contributors that detail it in a list.
Here are some fiscal deductions and credits commonly forgotten:

Job search expenses
If you were unemployed and looked for a job in your same line of work during 2011, you can deduct the costs of the job search. The costs of job search include items such as food, lodging and travel if your search takes you far from home, the fees of the job search agencies, postage, costs of printing pages and business cards, etc. However, the costs of job search incurred while searching for your first job do not qualify as a tax deduction.

Minor costs for charitable organizations
Aside from charitable donations you have made during the year, make sure to keep a register of minor costs that you might have incurred in while doing some work for a charitable organization. For example, buying ingredients of a dish you prepared to raise funds for said organization, or what you spent on mailing charges to send a large number of letters requesting donations. All of those little expenses can be fiscal deductions. Keep your receipts because if your expenses add up to more than $250, you will need the documentation of the organization. If you used your car during your activity with a charitable organization during 2011, make sure to deduct 14 cents per mile plus the cost of parking and highway toll booths.

Credit for home buyers
The credit expired in 2010 for the majority of home buyers, however, if you are a member of the armed forces in prolonged service outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period starting Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1 of 2010, you can qualify for a tax credit of up to $8000.

Credit for doing energy-saving related remodels in your home
Although this credit has been reduced, you can still take advantage if in 2011 you did energy efficient replacement projects. The credit is for 10 percent of the costs of the energy saving products – for example, windows and installation of materials that reduce and prevent the transmission of heat, electricity and sound. The maximum credit is of $500 allowed in all of your tax statements from 2006 to 2011. There is no limit to the money amount to receive another credit to those home owners who installed qualified equipment of residential alternative energy sources, such as the installation of solar or wind energy systems. Your credit can be 30 percent of the total cost (including labor) of such systems installed until 2016.

It’s important to point out that not everyone qualifies for certain tax credits and deductions. If you earned less than $49,000 you can get free help with your tax statement. You can seek help personally in the IRS offices or through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. And if you’re over the age of 60, you can get help through Tax Counseling for the Elderly, directed by AARP. For more information, visit the IRS website http://www.irs.gov/

The previous article hopes to give general information about the fiscal deductions and credits and is not considered to be financial advice or fiscal from Union Bank. Please consult a financial adviser.