Author: Dave Boike, Retirement Resources

There are two ways to get some money back for your undergraduate or postgraduate education. If you earn less than $65,000 a year (or $130,000 if filing jointly), you may take as much as a $4,000 deduction for each year of your higher education. You may also qualify for a $2,500 credit under the American Opportunity Tax Credit for undergraduate work, or, if you're working on a graduate degree, you may be eligible for the $2,000 Lifetime Learning Credit.

You cannot take both a deduction and a credit, so determine what's available to you and go with the option that gives you the biggest tax break.

Energy Savings Home Improvement Credit: If you are an environmentally conscious homeowner, you may be eligible for savings under the Energy Savings Home Improvement Credit. If you perform home improvements such as installing skylights, windows, outside doors, high-efficiency water heaters, pigmented roofs, or central air conditioning, you can take a 10 percent credit for these costs, the cap on which may not exceed $500. If you add alternative energy sources such as wind turbines, geothermal heat pumps or solar water heaters to your home, you can take a 30 percent credit on the costs of these improvements, and there is no cap through 2016.

If you do just a bit more exploring, you may discover even more deductions you've never thought of before. Be sure to discuss maximizing your tax refund with your tax preparer, and encourage him or her to help you uncover as many deductions as possible. After all, you worked hard to earn your money, so the less of it you must give to the Internal Revenue Service, the better.