Mark Steber Pay Quotations

Many times, certain deductible expenses are overlooked. Be sure to keep track of all of your travel expenses, including transportation, parking fees, ferry fees, tolls, lodging, meals and other incidental expenses. An important point to remember about military differential pay is that while the income is taxable, this pay is not considered wages and is not subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes. So it's important that military taxpayers ensure that their employers treat these earnings correctly.

The AMT is not just a tax that rich people pay anymore.

You should calculate your tax return both ways (including and not including combat pay as earned income for EITC purposes) to determine which option gives you the best result. Alternatively, combat pay is included as earned income when calculating the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit.

In general, preparing a return as a married couple filing jointly may give you the lowest tax liability and the highest standard deduction, but to find the best scenario, it's wise to calculate your return both ways and see which is the most advantageous for you. For example, if both of your incomes are about the same, you may pay less in taxes by filing jointly, depending on the rest of your return.

If you do a little homework on the front end, it can pay some dividends at tax-preparation time, and it can put some money in your pocket.