In this day and age, everything having to do with personal and small business finances is complicated, and probably no more so than with federal taxes and state taxes. While Congress pays lip service to simplifying taxes, each year seems to move us further away from disentanglement of the tax code. According to polls, most Americans think federal income taxes are too complicated, but they're not eager to simplify tax preparation by eliminating certain deductions and tax credits. One survey found 49% would prefer a trip to the dentist while 48% would rather prepare their taxes.

Highlighting this complexity is the fact that the federal tax laws currently are contained in close to 100,000 pages of code, decisions, and regulations to ensure that the government gets to your money before you do. Nevertheless, buried within that mountain of pages are tax breaks and tax savings strategies missed by many people, even experienced tax preparers.

Unfortunately, all too often, if you ask ten tax professionals a tax question you'll probably get nine different answers. Ask the IRS and you'll be given the wrong answer over 50% of the time. This is complication at its zenith.

While no one seems to have all the answers, here you'll find a series of informative articles to help educate you and provide ideas and guidance to alert you to the sorts of issues you should be aware of when you do your federal and state taxes. A sampling of pertinent articles is posted below, or Click Here for a complete list.

Gimme Shelter - Why Your Home is the Best Tax Shelter You Have
If you're living in a rental property, then you may be missing out the chance to save hundreds, even thousands, on your tax bill, while all the while helping your landlord prop up his own financial worth.

The Tax Increase Protection and Reconciliation Act of 2005 - What's It Mean for You?
The Tax Increase Protection and Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HR 4297) is designed to give investors a break on long term capital gains income and qualified dividend income

FLIP Out - Family Limited Partnerships Are a Helpful Tax-Saving Tool
There are certain partnerships that are great to have around when it comes time to work with taxes.

Energy Savings Tax Act of 2005 - How You Can Benefit with your Own Taxes
There are a lot of good reasons to buy energy efficient products.

Donate Your Car to a Charity and Realize a Good Tax Break
If you have an old car taking up space in the driveway, but you can't bring yourself to face the hassle of trying to sell the car in the newspaper classified ads, there's another way you can rid of it.

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