No matter what you could want when it comes to doing your taxes, the IRS has probably got a publication out there to explain it. Coupling your publication with TaxSlayer.com tax software makes doing your taxes online a piece of cake. Here are a few of the most popular IRS publications. 1. Publication 17: Your Federal Income Tax. This is the overall guide to help individuals with their online tax preparation. 2. Publication 3: Armed Forces’ Tax Guide. This one is tax filing for the military broken down in bite-sized pieces. 3. Publication 334: Tax Guide for Small Business. Get rid of those Schedule C nightmares by understanding taxable income and legitimate deductions. 4. Publication 463: Travel, Entertainment, Gift and Car Expenses. Do you need answers for deductible employee expenses? You can find the answers to them here! 5. Publication 502: Medical and Dental Expenses. Don’t know if it’s a qualified expense? Check out this one. 6. Publication 503: Child and Dependent Care Expenses. Is soccer day camp deductible? In some cases it is. You can find other bits of useful information here as well. 7. Publication 504: Divorced or Separated Individuals. Legal fees paid for tax advice in connection with a divorce and legal fees to get alimony may be deductible. Read this publication to find out other potential tax savings. 8. Publication 521: Moving Expenses. Know what counts as a qualified moving expense. You may be pleasantly surprised. 9. Publication 525: Taxable and Nontaxable Income. Is your Social Security, Inheritance or Disability Income taxable? This is a great resource to find out if it is or isn’t! 10. If you don’t want to use the publications you should try out TaxSlayer.com’s ‘Bobby Videos’. ‘Bobby’ is a virtual tax guide and is one of the unique help features available to you as you do your tax return. ‘Bobby’ can explain common tax questions in layman terms. In addition, you can always refer to our help wizards or help center for more information. Whatever kind of taxes you need to do online, you may actually be able to find an entire publication about it. If not, there is certainly a chapter somewhere to help you do your taxes online. This list includes only a few of the many publications found within our software.

Even if you are not the owner of a small business, you may be able to take tax deductions on the business use of your home as an employee. The rules are very similar to those for a small business owner. 1. As you complete your tax return, keep in mind the area of your home must be used as a principal place of business, such as a place for doing paperwork, meeting with clients or working on projects. 2. For you to take the tax deduction, the area must be used for regular and exclusive use, not just once every so often. In other words, you must use it for business purposes often, and it has to be a dedicated space, not a domestic area that you happen to do some work in. 3. You must use your home for the convenience of your employer. 4. You can’t get rent from your employer for the use of a portion of your home to conduct his or her business. When you deduct home office business expenses, you are actually determining the percentage of your home that you use for business and allocate that portion of the home as a business expense. Other business use of home expenses includes utilities, mortgage interest, depreciation, repairs and insurance. You may take these tax deductions regardless of whether you own your home or rent. Keep these things in mind to increase your tax deductions if you are eligible to the business use of a home deduction.

We know you’re out there. Yes, you, the taxpayer who owes the IRS and still hasn’t filed your tax return or requested an extension. Maybe you’ve put off filing your taxes for so long you’re in a panic and don’t know what to do. However, we’re here to tell you that you can still save money when you e-file, even though you will face penalties. Here’s how. Go ahead and file your tax return, even though you’ve put it off until past the deadline, because the penalties you already owe will increase if you don’t. E-file today and you can keep that from happening. The IRS charges a failure-to-file penalty at 5 percent of the balance due on your taxes per month. Even letting just part of a month lapse will tack on 5 percent- so don’t wait. The increase can be as high as 25 percent of the balance you owe. That is money you will save if you e-file now. The minimum penalty for a return over 60 days late is the less of $135 or the balance due. The IRS also charges a failure-to-pay penalty at 0.5% per month plus a monthly interest charge. The penalty cannot be more than 25% of the unpaid tax. The reality is that the tax deadline has passed and it is too late to file an extension. In order to save yourself some money and sanity, you should complete your return today and pay any tax due.

In order to get the largest refund you can get, you will need to know what the IRS allows you to deduct on your tax return. When you do your taxes, you should always have your eyes on the prize and think about that tax refund. In order to deduct your moving expenses and get that much closer to the largest refund possible on your tax return, you must be able to meet all three of these requirements: 1. The IRS wants your move to be closely related to the start of work both in time and in place. In other words, you must move within a year from the day you first start work in the new place. However, you don’t need to set up work before moving. In order to satisfy that your move is closely related in place, you must be able to show that the distance from your new home to your new job is not more than the distance from your former home to the new job. 2. You must meet the distance test. Your new job location must be at least 50 miles farther from your old home than your old job was from your former home. 3. You must meet the time test. There are different time tests for employees and self-employed taxpayers. An employee must work full time for 39 weeks during the first 12 months after arrival. The self-employed taxpayer must work 78 weeks during the first 24 months of arrival. If you can meet these conditions you can deduct several moving expenses. You can deduct the cost of moving your household goods and personal effects. You may also deduct ordinary travel expenses including lodging but not meals. Don’t forget that you can deduct the costs of connecting and disconnecting utilities, costs of shipping your car and household pets, and the cost of storing and insuring household goods. All these deductions certainly will help you receive a higher tax refund. It is certainly worth learning about.