Learn & Estimate Center
Education only — not personal tax advice. Personal questions route to a credentialed pro.
Figures verified against IRS sources · Tax-year tables 2016–2026 · Re-verified each season by the Update Engine · Last review: November 7, 2026
The Painful Lessons — 111 of them
The lessons taxpayers usually learn the expensive way: the extension that isn't time to pay, the ghost preparer, the 90-day letter, the deduction that costs you the house. Each lesson carries the rule behind it and what to do instead — searchable, in twelve categories.
Read the Painful Lessons →Am I Missing Anything?
Unclaimed Refund Finder — non-filer path
Did you skip filing any of the last 3 years but have tax withheld from pay?
Deduction & Credit Library
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
A refundable credit for low- to moderate-income workers, largest with qualifying children. About 1 in 5 eligible people never claim it — checking is always free here.
Authority: IRS Pub 596
Child Tax Credit / Credit for Other Dependents
Up to $2,200 per child under 17 (2025), with up to $1,700 refundable as the Additional Child Tax Credit; $500 for other dependents.
Authority: IRS Tax Tip 2026-10; Schedule 8812
Child & Dependent Care Credit
Claimed on Form 2441: a percentage (20%–35%, by income) of work-related care expenses for a child under 13 or a dependent who cannot care for themselves — counting up to $3,000 of expenses for one qualifying person, $6,000 for two or more. The credit cannot exceed your earned income (for couples, the lower-earning spouse's), and dependent-care FSA money from work reduces the expenses you can count: the same dollars cannot be used twice. The care must let you (and your spouse, if filing jointly) work or look for work, and the provider's name, address, and taxpayer ID go on the form.
Authority: Form 2441; Pub 503; IRC §21
American Opportunity / Lifetime Learning Credits
AOTC: up to $2,500 per student (up to $1,000 refundable) for the first four years of college. Lifetime Learning: up to $2,000 per return for any post-secondary study.
Authority: Form 8863; Pub 970
Saver's Credit
Up to $1,000 ($2,000 married filing jointly) for retirement contributions by eligible lower-income savers — on top of the deduction or exclusion for the contribution itself.
Authority: Form 8880
Premium Tax Credit
Helps pay Marketplace health insurance premiums; reconciled on Form 8962. Advance payments that exceed the final credit are repaid, so report income changes during the year.
Authority: Form 8962
Home office (simplified option)
$5 per square foot up to 300 sq ft for a space used regularly and exclusively for business. Employees cannot claim it; the actual-expense method needs records.
Authority: Rev. Proc. 2013-13; Pub 587
Business mileage
Deduct the business share of vehicle costs using the IRS standard mileage rate for the year, supported by a mileage log (date, purpose, miles). The rate is tabled in the Update Engine — the 2026 rate is under review and is not shown until verified.
Authority: Pub 463
Charitable giving
Deductible only when given to a qualified U.S. organization that controls the funds. Gifts to specific individuals or families — including money sent to family abroad — are never deductible (see Real or Myth).
Authority: Pub 526
Residential Clean Energy Credit (§25D)
The 30% credit for solar panels, solar water heating, geothermal, small wind, and battery storage CANNOT be claimed for property placed in service after December 31, 2025 — Congress terminated it (the companion home-improvement credit, §25C, ended the same day). Earlier years are not erased: if you placed qualifying property in service in 2025 or before and never claimed the credit, it can still be claimed — or added by amending — inside the usual 3-year window (IRC §6511). Why we flag instead of sell: some sites still advertise this credit as if it were alive. Always check the placed-in-service date before believing a credit exists.
Authority: Form 5695 instructions; IRC §25D as amended by P.L. 119-21
Clean Vehicle Credits (§30D new / §45W commercial)
The up-to-$7,500 credit for new clean vehicles (§30D) and the commercial clean vehicle credit (§45W) were terminated for vehicles ACQUIRED after September 30, 2025. A vehicle acquired on or before that date may still qualify under the rules of its year — and an eligible earlier purchase can still be claimed, or added by amending, inside the 3-year window (IRC §6511). Why we flag instead of sell: some sites still advertise these credits as if they were alive. Always check the acquisition date before believing a credit exists.
Authority: IRC §§30D, 45W as amended by P.L. 119-21; Form 8936
Real or Myth? The Verified Money List
Every money item on this platform carries one tag — REAL CREDIT / REAL DEDUCTION / REAL SAVER / DEPENDS / MYTH — plus its IRS authority and the tax years it applies to.
“Money I send to family in another country can be claimed on my taxes.”
For individuals this is a personal gift. It is not deductible and earns no credit — no matter how great the need. Deductible giving requires a qualified U.S. organization with full control of the funds; money earmarked for your family never qualifies. Reporting only: gifts over the annual exclusion ($19,000 per recipient in 2025) can require Form 709, and receiving large foreign gifts can require Form 3520.
Authority: IRS Pub 526; Taxpayer Advocate guidance
“Funding my family's remittance from my U.S. bank account instead of cash saves money from 2026.”
REAL from 2026: new IRC §4475 adds a 1% excise tax to remittance transfers funded by cash, money order, or cashier's check. Transfers funded from a U.S. bank account or a U.S.-issued debit/credit card are exempt. The saving is the funding method — never a tax claim.
Authority: IRC §4475; Form 720
“USCIS application fees and immigration attorney / document-prep fees earn me a tax credit.”
No such credit exists, and for individuals there is no deduction either: these are personal expenses, and miscellaneous itemized deductions were suspended by the TCJA (2018–2025) and then permanently eliminated (26 USC §67).
Authority: 26 USC §67; P.L. 119-21
“A business can deduct immigration legal costs it pays for its workers.”
REAL for businesses: ordinary-and-necessary legal and professional fees are deductible business expenses, and the business portion of tax-preparation fees is deductible (Schedule C/E). The personal portion never is.
Authority: IRS Pub 535
“A Qualified Charitable Distribution sends IRA money straight to charity, tax-free.”
REAL: from age 70½, a direct transfer from your IRA to a qualified charity is excluded from income and counts toward your Required Minimum Distribution. 2025 limit: $108,000 per person, read from the tax-year table. The 2026 figure is not tabled yet, so the app does not show one.
Authority: IRC §408(d)(8); Pub 590-B
“The IRS will call, text, or DM me demanding gift cards or crypto for a tax bill.”
The IRS's first contact is almost always a letter by U.S. mail. It never demands gift cards, prepaid cards, or crypto, and never threatens arrest by phone. See the Scam Shield.
Authority: IRS consumer alerts (irs.gov)
Annual Change Alerts
When the IRS changes a figure that affects you — the Child Tax Credit, the standard deduction, brackets — the Update Engine fires a personalized alert in your language and relabels the estimator and playbooks by tax year. Prior-year tables stay frozen, so an update never rewrites an old case.
Example from the tables: the single standard deduction moved from $15,750 (2025) to $16,100 (2026); residential energy credits expired for property placed in service after Dec 31, 2025.