National News

The 7 tax deductions you shouldn't overlook

The good thing about taxes is they're only filed once a year. The bad thing is it's almost impossible to remember which tax deductions you qualify for each year. "Credits come and go. It's hard to remember," says Bob Wheeler, a certified public accountant in Santa Monica, Calif. While the IRS does all it can to help taxpayers determine which itemized deductions to apply to their taxes, there are enough possible tax deductions that it's easy to miss some, experts say. The good news is that for most people who haven't had major life changes -- having a child, losing a job, buying a house, getting married, etc. -- filing taxes shouldn't be too hard, says Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. "The bottom line for most taxpayers is that 2012 should mostly represent 2011, because there weren't many tax law changes," Steber says. Here are some of the tax deductions you don't want to overlook: