Seven Tax Tips for 2010 Tax Filings

1. The AMT patch and the Educator Expense deduction are in---again.

2. The deduction of up to $500 of your real estate taxes ($1,000 if married filing jointly) on a standard deduction return is out.

3. Not all Energy Star appliances qualify for a credit. Washers and driers don’t.

4. The IRS is not sending tax packets out anymore, and libraries aren’t carrying tax forms. You’ll have to pull them off the Internet.

5. If you e-file, depending on who does it for you, you can get your federal refund in less than a week. Not a loan. A fee-free refund.

6. If you pay medical expenses for a parent, even if that parent is not your dependent and does not live with you, you can deduct those expenses along with your own itemized medical expenses.

7. If you break into your 401 k or IRA and use the money (or its equivalent, since money is fungible) to pay medical expenses, you won’t have to pay an early withdrawal penalty, but your tax preparer must know how to fill out a special form to get you excepted from it.