11 kid-centric tax breaks every parent should know about

By Carolyn O’Hara, Learn Vest

It’s no secret that raising kids is expensive—but did you know that it’s now reached price-of-a-vacation-condo-at-the-beach and splurge-on-a-Bentley expensive proportions? The cost of rearing a middle-class American child from infancy to the age of 18 is now an estimated at $241,000—and that’s before you start getting those college bills.

Are you missing out on these 11 kid-centric tax breaks? Photo from Forbes.

Fortunately, parents get a little bit of financial relief every April, courtesy of the U.S. government. Your little ones can nab you a number of tax breaks, but unless you’re an accountant yourself, it can be easy to miss out on them.

That’s why we asked Michael Goldfine, a New York City–based certified public accountant, and Jeffrey Schneider, an enrolled tax agent based in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, to highlight the 11 deductions, credits and tax strategies that every parent should know about—whether you have a toddler, or a college senior who’s just about to graduate.

Tax Breaks for Parents With Kids of Any Age

Dependent Exemption As soon as your little bundle arrives, he or she earns you a break on your taxes. For 2013 the dependent exemption reduces your taxable income by $3,900 for each dependent child under the age of 19—or until the age of 24, in the case of a full-time student. For divorced parents, the exemption typically goes to the parent who has custody of the child most of the year.

Read the full article by Carolyn O’Hara from Learn Vest.