Taxing Boo-Boos

In this article at MSNMoney.com, the author tells us the top 7 mistakes people make when paying their taxes. The first one is math- basic addition and subtraction.

I learned from this article a couple of things. First, if you make a decent salary, you shouldn't get married at the end of the year. If your combined incomes bump you up into a higher tax bracket (because you'll now have to file jointly) then you'll be paying a few hundred dollars more in taxes as married than both of you would pay separately. So if you wait another month, you'll at least be in a new tax year.

Also, I learned that your itemized deductions can only be audited for the previous three years (but a general audit can go back further). After that point you can throw away your paperwork. This is good news for my filing cabinet, with is jammed with receipts for all my taxes over the past 5 or 6 years.