Top Three Overlooked Tax Deductions

Every year come tax time people are scrambling to find as many tax deductions as possible in order to get the most amount of money back, or at least to lessen the amount of money that they might owe to good old Uncle Sam. While you may think that you have a good handle on all the deductions you are entitled to, you may be surprised to learn that there are three tax deductions in particular that are often overlooked, but can almost always be used.

Here are the top three overlooked tax deductions that may end up saving you some green:

1. Education Costs: The IRS certainly does its part to help those who are trying to pay for school. Many of the expenses that you incur regarding your higher education can be deducted including, student loan interest, some tuition, and more. To find out more about these school related tax breaks, you can look at IRS Publication 970.

2. Medical and Dental Expenses: There are many who feel that they simply can't deduct expenses they incur as a result of their medical and dental needs for the year. While this statement is somewhat true, these expenses can be deducted of they are a certain percentage of your overall income. This is defiantly a tax deduction to look into and you can find more information on IRS Publication 502.

3. Gambling Losses: Gambling losses can in fact be deducted if you have gambling winnings to compare them to. In other words, you can deduct your losses up to the amount that you win, like $1000 of loses can offset $1000 of winnings. This may save you from having to pay taxes on some or all of your winnings. Be sure to track all your gambling losses as well as your gambling winnings and check out IRS Publication 529 for more details.

Of course, the best course of action to take is to hire a quality tax professional to do your taxes for you and you should always consult a tax professional before you take any deductions you are not 100 percent sure of. But even if you can't or don't want to seek out the help of a pro, these tax deductions are worth looking into. While you may not save a ton of money using these top three overlooked tax deductions, you will be able to save, and when it comes to tax time, savings is the name of the game.

Source: IRS, Forms and Publications, IRS.gov