Personal Finance Expert Shares Tips On Overlooked Tax Deductions

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – With the deadline to file your taxes less than two months away, personal finance expert Shani Curry St. Vil stopped by the CBS4 Studio to share some tax deduction tips.

Student Loan Debt

"This is interesting. It is a known fact if you pay on your student loans, you can claim the interest. Even if you didn't pay your student loans, you are able to still claim the interest on it. If you give your daughter money to pay her student loan, she can still claim it as a deduction."

Reinvested Dividends

"You know when you get stocks or mutual funds, they give you the option and say, 'Do you want to reinvest your dividends?' It is not really a deduction. It is a subtraction. So when it's a subtraction, it does increase your tax basis. It's not necessarily going to be dollar for dollar, but it does improve through tax credit."

Mortgage Refinancing

"This one is tricky. When you refinance your mortgage you're able to go ahead and claim any origination points during the refinance. You can get them all at once but you can get them back over the life of the loan."

Charitable Giving

"So that's a little more known – donating to your church or your child's little league… But there are some things you may not be claiming. Say for instance the ingredients you are using, you can write those off. You want to keep those receipts. Say for instance you're making cakes and pies and all that stuff you can actually write those things off. The gas mileage as well. Don't just think about the donation that you make but think about the contributions you are making in time as well as creativity."