Maximizing Your Tax Return

   Tax season can be a great way to get a chunk of money back into your savings account. Some households rely on their tax return to pay off credit card debt, some use it for a nice vacation, some just stash it away for a rainy day. Whatever you look forward to using that money for, here are a few tips to help you maximize your return:

   Save all your receipts: If you buy uniforms or business attire, safety shoes, pay for professional association dues, use your vehicle for work (not including mileage to and from work) - all of these things are a tax write off. If you donate to any charities throughout the year, through payroll deduction or any other way, this is a tax write off. Even if you drop off clothing and other items at Goodwill or shelters, take a note of the value of the items and have someone from the organization sign the note.

   Medical expenses: Any kind of medical expense is tax-deductible. You must spend 7.5% of your income on medical in order for it to be deductible, but keep all your paperwork and receipts anyway. You might hit that percentage. We did. Ian got braces this year so that bumped our medical expenses up a lot. Combined with the cost of my contacts - outrageous by the way - insurance premiums, regular physician check-ups and contraception, we were well over $7,000. You can even write off mileage to and from the doctor's office, which helped us out because Ian has to go back to the orthodontist every 2-3 months for adjustments.

   If you have a side business: We started my little bread baking business this year, Bread Moments. I was selling bread at the farmer's market nearly every Saturday from May until October. Because I kept the receipts for everything - from groceries to mixing bowls, my advertising banner, everything - we calculated that we spent $1,475 on supplies, ingredients, vendor space, etc. to get this "business" off the ground. How much did we make? Hah! After we calculated mileage to and from the market....we were in the hole $304. Which is not too bad for getting a business started, but it's not awesome. Anyway, everything was tax deductible so we got a little back.

   Friday, I met with our tax guy, who is also a good friend of Ian's family and does our taxes in exchange for fresh warm bread :) His fantastic math skills determined we will be getting back roughly $2,800. Which is about $600 more than last year. I'm contributing that to the extra we spent on the bread business, and an increase in Ian's income. The boat industry in Crystal River had a good year :)

   When this money comes in, we are planning to take a few hundred dollars and treat ourselves to the Wizzarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. The rest is going in savings!