Top 10 Tax Tips

f you haven't started pulling your taxes together yet, you've come to the right place.

FOX23 News has some tips for you about deductions you might not have ever thought of that can put more money in your pocket instead of in the government's.

Here is the info you need to know and probably didn't.

It's a word that strikes dread in any of us - taxes.

If you're worried about having to pay out instead of getting money back this year, take heart, you might not have to.

Joseph Templin/Financial planner: “There's all these other things unless all you do is go to work and come up and do absolutely nothing else to contribute to society or help anybody else out, then you do have some additional opportunities.”

Joe Templin ought to know.

A former applied physicist turned financial planner, he has actually read the more than 50,000 pages of the IRS Tax Code and used those analytical skills to find deductions you may have never dreamed of, like...

Joe Templin: “Let's say if the boss sends you out to go get coffee and doesn't end up paying you for it, if you're traveling for that, let's say you have to go to the coffee shop down the road and back, you get to deduct the mileage associated with that.”

That takes us to one of the biggest unrealized deduction areas - unreimbursed business expenses.

Basically, anything you use for work, especially if you have a home office, is ripe for deducting - your computer, your phone, even career-specific magazine subscriptions.

If you're not working, but looking, you can deduct job search-related costs, even working your contacts.

Joe Templin: “Let's say you go out with several friends that are still working in your field and you go out and buy them dinner and you spend that time brainstorming over where you should be applying and trying to get into the appropriate hiring manager, that is technically a job search meeting.”

Here are some other big areas where you can find money you didn't expect.

* Charitable contributions - not just the contribution itself, but for example, if you make something for a bake sale, you can deduct the cost of the ingredients.

* Refinancing - you can deduct new points and old points up to about 10 dollars a month until it's all covered.

* Health insurance premiums - you can even deduct co-pays and the mileage to get back and forth to your doctor's office, although you have to exceed 7.5% percent of your adjusted gross income on medical expenses before those deductions are allowed.

* Gambling expenses like lottery losses can be used to offset up to the amount you've actually won.

* Education expenses - teachers can deduct books and supplies, and you can deduct some higher education course expenses depending on your income.

* Energy conservation - there are tax credits for installing energy efficient appliances or making improvements to your home to lower your utility usage.

You can also deduct investment expenses like broker's fees, and you can even deduct the cost of having your taxes done.

Joe Templin: “There's a certain minimum level of taxes that have to be paid and should be paid because that's part of our duty as Americans, but paying a dime more does not make you a better American.”

Bottom line - talk to whomever does your taxes, preferably throughout the year, not just at tax time, so you can take advantage of opportunities you might otherwise miss.

Joe Templin: “The IRS is this big behemoth of an agency, yes, and they do have all these resources, but they realize that they are ultimately accountable to the taxpayer. If the taxpayer understands the rule of the game, then they have a better chance of winning.”

Consider yourself armed for battle.