I received a package in the mail the other day with a line of books called Tax Deductions A to Z by Anne Skalka ($12.95 each) which I found to be an interesting twist to most tax books I come across. First, instead of trying to include tax information for every possible situation and for every possible profession (most of which won’t apply to you), the books are divided into different professions each with the appropriate information to that profession:

• Clergy
• Educators
• Fire, Police & EMT Professionals
• Freelancers & Contractors
• Health Care Professionals
• Home Office & Self Employed
• Military & Reservists
• Sales Professionals
• The Everyday Taxpayer
• Trades People / Union Members
• Writers, Artists & Performers

This allows you to choose the appropriate book to your profession and have all the tax deductions that you may qualify for right there instead of having to weigh through all the ones that there is no way that you qualify for.

As the title of the books implies, they are set up like a dictionary from A to Z which makes finding out whether or not something is tax deductible or not relatively pain free. In fact, skimming through the book I came across several tax deductions that I qualify for that I had not considered before. For example, tips to service personnel in certain circumstances are tax deductible.

In addition, there are also entries of things that we would like to be tax deductible (and may wonder about), but which aren’t. While you may want to deduct your parking ticket, you will find out that “you may not deduct the cost of fines that have been imposed for breaking the law.”

For those that are employed in one of the above professions, the book will be worth quickly reading through to make sure that you haven’t forgotten any of the tax deductions for which you qualify. As the books indicate, the price of each is also tax deductible.

If you would like one of the above books listed, simply email me with which one and your mailing address and I will send it out to you (I only have one of each and it is on a first come, first served basis). Sorry, all books have been claimed. Happy Holidays!