Tax Credits and Other Issues for Families

Elsewhere in this material, we discuss most of the tax issues that affect you in your capacity as a business owner, an employee, an investor, a homeowner, or a retiree.

In this portion, we're going to tie up the loose ends by discussing a number of tax issues that pertain primarily to your family situation.

• First, we'll discuss the treatment of alimony, which is deductible by the person who pays it and is taxable to the person who receives it.
• Next, we're going to cover a number of special tax breaks based on your family situation, including:
  • the newly increased $600-per-child tax credit
  • the adoption expense exemption and credit that were added in 1997
  • the credit for the elderly and the disabled
• We'll also discuss the tax breaks for education, including the Hope Scholarship credit, the Lifetime Learning credit, education IRAs, the exclusion of interest on certain student loans.
• We'll conclude with a discussion of the earned income credit for lower-income families and individuals.