If you're weary of the stock market you can still save in a 401(k). Just choose a more conservative option. Some plans will even let you allocate to a money market fund.

The grandmother can't take the dependency exemption if the mother claims the child for the Earned-Income Tax Credit any longer under the new rules.

The important thing to understand is there are certain things you can do. They may or may not help you. It's not something that is just totally and completely under control.

But don't just slap $10,000 of miscellaneous expenses on your return. You need to explain that you work for company XYZ and do not get reimbursed for XYZ expenses.

I once cashed out a bunch of savings bonds in the middle of the year and forgot about them. Then I got a nice little love note from the IRS saying they'd corrected my return.

My recommendation is to start small. You'll be surprised by just how many things you can use your FSA money for.

The home office deduction is more nuanced than people think.

A day trader could have a couple thousand trades while even a more typical investor could still have 20 to 40 trades during a year. If you have a bunch of trades, you'd end having to pay an outrageous tax preparation fee because there'd be so many trades that would have to be typed in.

You'd be amazed at the kind of things people come in and think they can deduct. If you're not sure about a deduction, talk to someone who knows the law, not your Uncle Louie.