Guard your personal documents to keep thieves from stealing your identity and using it to claim your tax refund.
Many Americans depend on tax refunds for savings. But you might be better off adjusting your withholding and opening a savings account.
The federal government is ramping up its efforts to combat criminals who engage in identity theft to collect other people's tax refunds.
Conventional financial wisdom says it's better to adjust withholding than to get a big refund. Here are five reasons why a refund is good.
More than 1 million taxpayers who were due a refund failed to file. If you're one of them, you have until April 17 to claim your money.
Tax refunds are the only windfall many people ever see, and there's a big temptation to blow it all on something fun. There are better ideas.
Even if it appears the IRS owes you money, you may not get a refund if you owe back child support or defaulted on student loans -- or if the IRS can't find you.
Another awful product is finally getting flushed down the drain. This is the last year any major tax prep service will offer refund anticipation loans, where fees can equal 150% interest.
VIDEO ON MSN MONEY
DATA PROVIDERS
Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.
Japanese stock price data provided by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.; quotes delayed 20 minutes. Canadian fund data provided by CANNEX Financial Exchanges Ltd.
TOP STOCKS
Try as the bears might, they couldn't break U.S. stocks. But investors still face frothy prices and considerable headwinds.
MARKET DISPATCHES
The Market Dispatches column has been discontinued. Here's where to find the latest stock and business news on MSN Money, and the latest from market writer Charley Blaine.
FRUGAL COOL
Starting Monday, this site is joining forces with MSN Money Smart Spending. Here's why.
MONEY & POLITICS
Breaking up big banks is an untested solution to the too big to fail problem that attempts to isolate and dismantle large, troubled institutions while protecting the rest of the economy.
SMART SPENDING
A new federal safety report shows toddlers and minority children make up a disproportionate number of drowning victims.
SMART TAXES
The IRS is struggling to combat identify thieves who file fraudulent tax returns in the names of older residents who don't need to file.
