Welcome to today’s live chat about how to cut your tax bill!
Happy to be here! Let's get going.
Joining us today is Kiplinger’s tax expert Sandra Block. Thanks for being here, Sandra!
To get started, can you tell us if there are any new tax breaks for 2012 folks should know about?
Not anything really new, but a few tax breaks that had expired were resurrected in the fiscal cliff bill. Those include a $500 credit for home-energy improvements and a deduction for state sales taxes. If you live in a state that doesn't have an income tax (because you can't deduct both) this is a particularly useful tax break for you.
Ready for your first question?
Our first one is from deployedairman
Sorry to hear that. I hate to punt on this, but I think you're going to need to talk with a tax preparer, preferably an enrolled agent or CPA. There are several factors that will affect whether you can deduct this tax bill, and when.