Tax Tips to Maximize Your Refund
These tax tips can help maximize your tax refund. If you missed out on any of these items, file an amended return with us to get the refund you deserve.
- Head of Household Filing Status
- Claim Eligible Dependents
- RVs, Campers, and Boats
- Child Care from Relatives
- IRA Contributions
- Claim Your College Student Child
Don't file as Single if you qualify for Head of Household. You'll get a bigger refund if you file as Head of Household. If your ex-spouse claims your child as a dependent on his or her tax return, but the child lives with you, you can probably still file as Head of Household. Also, if you can claim a parent, grandparent, nephew, niece, brother, or sister as a dependent on your tax return, you can probably file as Head of Household.
The Credit for Other Dependents is available for many dependents that don't qualify for the Child Tax Credit. For example, this may apply if you can claim a parent or older child as a dependent. You may qualify for a $500 credit for your dependent that can reduce your tax liability.
Deduct the loan interest on your RV, camper, or even your boat. You're allowed to deduct mortgage interest on your primary residence and one other residence. The definition of what constitutes a residence is very broad and includes RVs, campers, and boats, as long as they have cooking, toilet, and sleeping facilities.
If you pay your parents or adult children who you aren't claiming as a dependent to watch your younger children while you are at work, those expenses are qualified dependent care expenses and can be used for the dependent care credit.
You can contribute to an IRA for 2025 until the April tax deadline and deduct contributions to traditional IRAs on your 2025 tax return if your income isn't too high. You may also be able to claim the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit if your income is low enough.
Whoever is claiming the college student also gets to claim the education credits for the student. It's almost always better for the parents to claim the student as a dependent and claim the college tuition on their return. This is because the parents' tax bracket is usually higher, so they usually benefit more from the education credits than the student does.
You can only claim the education credits if you're claiming the student as a dependent. If you claim your child as a dependent, make sure you coordinate with each other so your child indicates that someone else will claim them as a dependent when they file their return.
