Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

In this week's Money Made Easy, financial adviser Dan Danford answers a last-minute tax question: I'm always worried I'm doing the calculations wrong on my tax return because it's confusing to me. What should I do if I make a mistake on my taxes? Does it vary depending on the type of mistake I make?

Danford, MBA, CRSP, of Family Investment Center, explains how the IRS treats inaccuracies on your taxes and what you need to do to correct any mistakes.

In this week's Money Made Easy, financial adviser Dan Danford answers a last-minute tax question: I've heard that you can claim items such as license plate renewal fees to get a deduction on your taxes, which I had not heard about. What are some other items that can be claimed that you think most people don't realize or wouldn't think of?

Danford, MBA, CRSP, of Family Investment Center, reviews common itemized deductions along with more complicated items that might be deductible based on special circumstances.

Question:

For several years, my income tax return was sent directly to my state's department of child support. I have proof from the IRS of these payments.

However, my ex-wife never received the money and it was not credited toward my child support arrearage because the money was misused or lost by my state's child support division.

What can I do to fix this mistake?

Question:

In my divorce decree there is a provision that whichever parent has the greatest benefit to claiming the children on the taxes should claim them. That parent should then pay the other parent the amount that they would have received had they claimed the children.

In my situation, my ex-wife would have received a larger refund if she claimed them, but she already filed her taxes assuming that I would be claiming them. So when I filed them I got the refund though it is smaller than what she would have gotten if she claimed them.

Now she says she is entitled to that refund. Does she have a case?

In this week's Money Made Easy, financial adviser Dan Danford answers this financial question from a viewer: I think tax rules change from year to year, so what are the big tax changes I should be aware of this year before filing?

Danford, MBA, CRSP, of Family Investment Center, says the real way to save money on taxes isn't really about how you file your tax return, but how you structure your financial life as you are living it.