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1. Don’t shoot a buzzer-beater on April 15. Turn your paperwork in as early as possible. Performing under pressure might be asking to make a mistake. And in the case of tax-prep services and accountants who are likely to see a bottleneck as Tax Day approaches, “if you’re going to pay big bucks to someone like me to do your taxes, you don’t want me to do it in a hurry,” says Leo Bruette, 61, a tax partner at BDO Seidman in Bethesda.

2. File a tax return even if you don’t have to. If you don’t file, you could be leaving money on the table. “People that I’ve bumped into that have not had reason to file because their income was too low may not recognize that they do have a right to something,” says Innokenty Tolmachoff, an adjunct professor of accounting at Strayer University.
Rebates and credits (which amounted to $300 or $600 last year) exist, even for low-income families and individuals, but you must file first. With free filing services abounding, it’s worth a try.

3. If you’ve been reluctant to file online — TRY IT. The Internal Revenue Service offers a bevy of online resources. As with pretty much everything, filing online is faster. You can save on postage, and people judge you less if you do it in your pajamas. For state taxes, visit the Comptroller of Maryland’s site and check out iFile for personal income and bFile for businesses. (See list below for URLs.)

4. Having your taxes done for free is La Dolce VITA. That may be a little exaggerated, but not by much. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program offers assistance to low-income taxpayers in and around Baltimore.
“We offer free tax prep for people whose income is under $42,000 per year, which is the maximum income for the Earned Income Tax Credit for a married couple with two kids,” says Rob Bader, 38, director of tax operations for the Baltimore CASH (Creating Assets, Savings and Hope) Campaign, a coalition of area nonprofits and government agencies.
To locate the VITA site nearest you, visit baltimorecashcampaign.org or call the IRS hotline at 1.800.TAX.1040. (Come on, that’s a funnier novelty number than you’d think the IRS would have.) Be sure to bring Social Security cards for you and any dependents to your appointment.

5. If you don’t think you qualify for a first-time homebuyer credit, double-check. The term “qualified 2008 first-time homebuyer” has some wiggle room. If you have bought a home before, but not within the past three years, you may be eligible for the $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit.

By the way, don’t spend your credit on hookers and blow either.

The credit is really an interest-free loan that you must repay over the next 15 years. It was meant to give the slumping housing market a boost, not to underwrite a shopping spree.
The more recently passed economic stimulus bill included an $8,000 tax credit for 2009 first-time homebuyers.
The 2009 credit is a straightforward credit and not a loan, and can be claimed on a 2008 tax return, according to irs.gov.

6. Get a return on your education. Writing off education expenses is a frequently overlooked tax deduction, according to bankrate.com.
You might be eligible to deduct student loan interest, tuition and fees (even those for work-related classes) that could equal thousands in returns, according to hrblock.com.

7. Don’t be overly generous when assessing your generosity. Receipts are necessary for all itemized charitable donations (so money in the church plate doesn’t count). If you’ve donated in kind, be fair when calculating the value.
“Thrift shop value is going to be some percentage of that original cost, probably in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” says Bruette.

8. If you owe money, think carefully before paying it off with a credit card. For the financially disciplined, it’s possible to use credit wisely and reap rewards by charging your taxes.
It’s tempting to reach for your credit cards and say you’ll think about it tomorrow. But incurring interest and service fees on tax payments is an unnecessary evil when the IRS and the Comptroller of Maryland offer plenty of extensions and payment plans.

“With the installment agreement, you are requesting that you be given essentially a loan from the IRS to pay back the taxes owed over a period of three years or less. Fill out IRS Form 9465 and the IRS will respond in about 30 days,” says Columbia-based personal finance blogger Jim Wang on his Web site, bargaineering.com.
The IRS interest rate is typically a bargain compared with the rates of most commercial credit cards.

9. If you get money back, think carefully before getting a RAL (refund anticipation loan). Some businesses — ranging from national tax preparation chains to your friendly neighborhood loan shark — offer short-order refunds once you file your return. But patience is a profitable virtue.
“You get a quick refund that day or the next day, and they charge you very high interest rates. It can cost hundreds of dollars, the RAL,” says Bader.

10. Breathe deeply. Do not freak out. If you are making a fair effort to report your income honestly, chances are you won’t come under scrutiny.
“There’s life, and there’s taxes. Taxes are just a part of it,” says Bruette.

Sites for your tax-filing pleasure:

IRS irs.gov

Comptroller of Maryland marylandtaxes.com

Baltimore Cash Campaign baltimorecashcampaign.org

Clare Lochary, special to b

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