Tax Credit

The housing rescue credit was trumpeted as a solution to the country's housing crisis, but many say it's simply a band-aid. And guess what? It's not free money after all. Find out what it is, how it works and if you qualify.

As everyone eagerly awaits their "economic stimulus" checks from the federal government, scheduled to begin mailing in May, there's a bit of bad news coming. Each state must decide whether or not they are going to tax the rebate check you get.

Use this easy tool to estimate how much you might be receiving from the "Economic Stimulus" plan that's being worked on by our legislators. The tool is provided by The Online NewsHour at pbs.org.

In the United States, when you have more children, your taxes go down. For each dependent member of your family, you get a deduction, thereby lowering your taxes. Some argue that this wrongly encourages people to have children; others believe that it's only fair to lower a family's taxes in return for the future taxes the child will pay.

Turbo Tax, the popular tax time software, is sponsoring America's Cutest Last-Minute Tax Deduction. All you have to do is send in a photo of your newborn baby (born between 12/01/07 and 12/31/07) and hope he or she is as adorable as you think she is. The winner will receive the title of America's Cutest Last-Minute Tax Reduction and a $5,000 U.S. Savings Bond (and perhaps the launch of a lucrative modeling career.)

Taxpayers can receive a credit toward their taxes for each qualifying child. Tax credits are very advantageous to taxpayers because they represent a direct reduction in the tax dollars to be paid. For 2007, the maximum credit per child is $1,000.

Americans who claim tax credits for child care expenses, college costs or home energy updates may have to wait a while for their refund checks from the IRS this year.