Borrow Smart
Credit card debt? If you’re trying to pay off your credit card balances (which, as we all know, is hard to do) and you’re a homeowner, you may want to consider paying off credit card balances with a home equity loan. Mortgage interest and equity interest are deductible (cool!), whereas personal interest is not. (Equity interest on a loan up to $100,000 ($50,000 MFS) is deductible).

Love Makes All Things Equal? Not for the IRS
You love your pet and your pet loves you but you cannot claim your cat or dog as a dependent, even if Kitty or Lassie has a social security number. Life’s just not fair sometimes.

Life Is Tough Enough Department
If you’re planning to get married soon, or are already married and are filing a joint return, you may want to do some calculations. In some situations, the tax liability on a joint return is higher that if filing separately. This tends to be the case if both incomes are higher that average and are fairly equal. All’s fair in love and taxes.