Taxes can be a touchy subject, especially if they go up.
This year however, there are some credits and deductions that may keep or put some money in your pocket.

"There are so many," says Melissa Nyhus, a CPA and Tax Manager at LarsonAllen in Altoona says the tax rules change every year, and this year she has a list of credits and deductions that may apply to you.

"There are some that will provide some major benefits to people," she says.

Here's one: Two kinds of education credits the Hope Credit and Lifetime Learning credit. They are for people who are students or parents of students in disaster areas. For 2008-2009, that includes Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

"If the federal government provided assistance to individuals and households not just to state and local governments and non-profits," she adds.

For instance, regardless if you live in Eau Claire, Rice Lake or Eleva, if you have a child at a college like Viterbo or UW-La Crosse, or even if you attended some classes, Nyhus says you may qualify for either $3,600 or $4,000 in tax credits, which comes off what you owe.

"You do not need to live there you just need to be attending college in one of those counties."

She says the credits apply to tuition, room and board and even books for students who had to deal with disaster like the flooding in southern Wisconsin, "if you're attending college it affects you too."

If you bought a home after April of 2008, or are planning to buy a home before the end of June, Nyhus says you can get up to $7,500 in what's basically an interest free loan from the government.

"The First-Time Homebuyer Credit is for those who have not owned a main home for 3 years, so it's not necessarily your first home.
This is a refundable credit. So if your tax liability is less than that you will get a check."

She says this is to help the housing market, but if you take the first-time homebuyer credit, you will be paying it back through your tax return, starting in 2010, "if you're looking at buying a home definitely look into it."

And if you pay real estate taxes, but don't have enough to itemize, there's a bit of a silver lining for you this year.

"There's an additional standard deduction for real estate taxes paid, and that's $500 single and $1,000 joint. This subtracts from your taxable income. A deduction is not as good as credit, but it still helps. It reduces the amount of income subject to tax."

To look at the guidelines, here's a fact sheet.