Tax Deductions You Should Know About

March 10, 2008— -- Many of the events that happen in your life, both to you and your family, are events that will have some type of impact on your taxes. Therefore, keeping up with the new tax laws can make filing your tax return much easier and help ensure you don't miss out on certain deductions.

Two key areas of particular interest for making sure that you take advantage of all family-related tax breaks involve life changes and determining just whom you can claim as a dependent.

Married filing jointly: Remember, your tax status for the entire year is determined by your marital status on Dec. 31 of that year. For 2007, that's Dec. 31, 2007.

Click here to learn more about easily-overlooked tax deductions at our partner site, Forbes.com.

In a family way: You can deduct a number of medical expenses as they pertain to the expansion, or even delay, of your family. Deductions include fees paid for childbirth preparation classes, certain fertility enhancement procedures, birth control pills and/or legal operations to prevent having children.

What's in a name? Spouses who change their last name should notify the Social Security Administration as soon as possible. Whether you are a bride changing to your husband's last name or you are in a same-sex partnership, failure to report name changes could lead to complications at tax time.

After the love is gone: If your divorce is officially recognized as effective on or before Dec. 31, then you are considered divorced for the entire year, which may enable you to claim certain benefits associated with filing as single or as a head-of-household, if you qualify.

Filing separate returns: Even though filing a joint return might make a couple feel even closer, it may not be your best option from a tax perspective. For example, if one spouse has large medical expenses or employee business expenses but lower income than the other, filing separate returns may result in a lower overall tax liability. Run the numbers both ways to determine which is better.