Cashing In On Some Tax Filing Tips You May Qualify For

The deadline to file your tax forms this year is April 18th.  

I talked with a local expert and they say you could be cashing in on some tax breaks you may not know about and get back a check from Uncle Sam.

Adrianne Harper at the H&R Block office in Sand Springs says there are several tax breaks that Oklahomans may not realize they qualify for. 

First off, there is Earned Income Credit, a tax break that depends on how much you make and how many people are in your household.

"Only 1 in 5 people really realize that they qualify for that and take advantage," said Adrianne Harper.

In Oklahoma that would mean more than a million people qualify, but don't take it.

If you pair that with child tax credits, you could be talking about a tax return of thousands of dollars.

"Whenever somebody has a baby and they have them late in the year, they don't realize they get the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit for the whole entire year," said Adrianne Harper.  

Even if your baby was born on December 30th, 2015  you can claim them for the whole year.

If you got married last year, Harper says she almost always advises people to file jointly and not separately, because of unique marriage tax credits.

And if you're in college or still paying for it and you're a student or a parent, don't miss out on the tax breaks.

"Their expenses for their tuition, their fees, their books, things like that. And if they claim that child on that tax return- they can actually get that on theirs," said Adrianne Harper.  

She says you can also write off the interest you pay on those student loans.