Tax

Too often, taxpayers are led to believe that if they don't itemize, then there are no real deductions available to them beyond the standard deduction. In reality, there are a number of deductions that a taxpayer can claim without itemizing.

Here are 10 ways to maximize your tax deductions -- without going through the trouble of itemizing:

With piles and piles of fine-print, the IRS is here to make understanding tax code easy: just spend a few hours flipping through the booklets, and you're sure to find a reference to the topic you're wondering about.

If you're unsure about what exactly constitutes income, Publication 17 (2009) is your source of information. Here's some sources of income that a lot of people often overlook:

Gambling winnings. You must include your gambling winnings in income on Form 1040, line 21. If you itemize your deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040), you can deduct gambling losses you had during the year, but only up to the amount of your winnings. See chapter 28 for information on recordkeeping.

There are a few things in life that are clear cut. You like Pepsi or you like Coke, you like Ford or you like Chevy and you file your taxes early or you line up at the post office at 11:58 on April 15th. For most people, choosing when to file your taxes boils down to one thing; will you owe Uncle Sam or will you be paying off the HDTV you bought for the Super Bowl with your refund. The good news is that, statistically, if you do file early you are more likely to receive a refund -- and a generous one at that.

Great news for anyone who makes under $58,000. You'll be able to file your taxes for free, including free tax prep, thanks to a $4 million grant from the Walmart Foundation to United Way Worldwide, One Economy and the National Disability Institute. This is the second year for the free tax prep program, which allows Americans who meet the criteria to get free assistance at community locations and online at Myfreetaxes.com.

According to the Walmart Foundation, last year's program provided more than 650,000 people with tax prep, and helped them save over $950 Million in tax preparation fees, refunds and tax credits.

It's an annual rite of passage that almost every taxpayer goes through: Interpreting the latest and greatest IRS rules. Of course, that leads to lots of tax questions.

Luckily, we have the answers. Below tax blogger and attorney Kelly Phillips Erb tackles some of your top tax questions.

Cash is hard to come by these days. So it's not unusual to see barter arrangements between taxpayers.

You've probably even done a little of this yourself: You've designed someone's Web site in exchange for "free" handyman services, or you've done someone's taxes in exchange for a new Coach briefcase. In either case, whether it's the exchange of goods or services for other goods or services, it's a barter.

No money actually changes hands, so it's almost as if the transaction didn't happen, right? Not exactly. The fair market value of goods and services that you receive in exchange for goods or services you provide must be included as income on your tax return even though you don't receive payment in a traditional way.

Every year about this time, I receive a lot of mail from seniors who are confused about whether they should file a tax return. The confusion stems from the fact that many seniors receive income from sources that might not be taxable, such as Social Security and tax-exempt bonds.

Whether you're a retiree or someone helping a senior family member or friend with taxes, here are 10 tax tips to help ease you through the tax season and maximize your deductions:

Get out the barbells. It's time to do more lifting to prepare for heftier carry-on bags. That's because airline passengers may be hit with even more expensive baggage fees following a little-noticed recent development.

In a victory for cash-strapped airlines still struggling with lagging demand and high oil prices, the Internal Revenue Service ruled last week that the federal government cannot tax bag fees.

Speaking on behalf of the industry -- which is worried Congress will tax a bevy of additional fees that have angered already beleaguered travelers -- an unidentified carrier asked the IRS to rule on the matter.

The national unemployment rate stands at a whopping 10% -- higher than it has been for years. Despite all the talk in Washington about creating new jobs, the outlook is pretty scary: When the economy was recovering from the 2001 recession, it took two years to reduce the unemployment rate by nearly a full percentage point. For that to happen in 2010, a net total of about 3 million jobs would have to be created.

Realistically, that means tens of millions of Americans were searching for new jobs in 2009. Job interviews, resumes, and fees related to a job search can add up. Fortunately, those expenses are deductible on your federal income tax return. Here's what you need to know:

In late January, the IRS and Treasury Department organized EITC Awareness Day to highlight the availability of the tax credit. According to the IRS, nearly 24 million people took advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit last year, receiving nearly $50 billion in benefits.

Just because EITC Awareness Day has passed doesn't mean the IRS will cease its efforts to promote the credit. To assist EITC taxpayers, 167 IRS assistance centers will offer Saturday service on February 20. Click here to find a center near you.

Even though the online filing season for the IRS officially began Jan. 15, many taxpayers don't yet have their necessary tax forms. That's because the law allows employers and others charged with preparing tax forms to taxpayers to distribute those forms up until Jan. 31 -- unless Jan. 31 falls on a holiday or weekend, in which case the deadline is the next business day. That's the case this year, so that means that the deadline is Monday, Feb. 1.

What do you do if Monday comes and goes and you don't have your forms W-2, 1099, and other documents you need to file your tax return? Here are a few answers:

No use complaining. It's coming, whether we like it or not: April 15th is on the way.

But on the plus side, if you're thinking about your taxes already and not trying to make sense of everything on April 14, then you have some time to ponder what gifts Uncle Sam has come up with to make paying your fair share feel a little more fair. As in -- tax credits.

I didn't need any time for deliberation when I received my ballot for this month's special state vote in Oregon: I filled in the bubbles for "yes," as did a majority of voters, next to Measures 66 and 67 and took it with all speediness to the nearest library drop-off. Measure 66 raises taxes on individuals making more than $125,000 (and couples making more than $250,000)

"Worried about an IRS audit? Avoid what's called a red flag. That's something the IRS always looks for. For example, say you have some money left in your bank account after paying taxes. That's a red flag."
-- Jay Leno

While Leno might not have it exactly right, he is on to something: The IRS does look for red flags when selecting a return for audit. Their methodology, however, is a little more sophisticated than what the comedian suggests. While there's no foolproof way to escape an audit, here are some tips for keeping your return from being flagged:

It hasn't been a fun January for Arizona Cardinals safety Antrel Rolle. First, his team was eliminated from the NFL playoffs by the Super Bowl-bound New Orleans Saints. Rolle left that game early with a head injury.

Now the IRS is giving Rolle a second pounding with a bill for $2.2 million bill in back taxes, interest and penalties.