Hi friends and welcome to the Money Girl Podcast.

I'm Laura Adams, the author of the new book Money Girls Smart Moves to Grow Rich.

This is the first podcast in a three-part series we're calling Tax Boot Camp

because Uncle Sam wants you but he also wants your money.

Taxes are a part of life but no one, at least no one I know, wants to pay more than their legal share.

So you boot camp recruits can call me Sergeant Adams for the next few weeks.

I won't scream for push-ups or tell you that you can't handle the truth, but I will expect you to pay close attention.

Taxes certainly aren't the most stimulating personal finance topic out there,

but if you don't go AWOL on this boot camp series, you'll learn how to pay less

tax, save more money, avoid getting into trouble with the IRS, and get last minute filing

tips that'll keep you calm and cool.

In this first episode of the series, I'm going to cover what you really need to know about tax deductions and tax credits.

Why should you care about them? Well, because they can cut your tax bill or even

increase your refund. A true tax warrior fights to claim every single deduction and credit that they qualify for, so they never pay

more tax than they absolutely have to.

So let's start with deductions.

A tax deduction is an amount that the IRS allows you to

subtract from your taxable income. When you reduce your taxable income, you lower your tax liability. For example, if your taxable income is 40,000

and you're eligible to claim 10,000 in allowable deductions,

then you only have to pay tax on 30,000, not 40,000.

That makes a huge difference.

The trick with claiming tax deductions

...