If you sold your main home and made a profit, you may be able to exclude that profit from your taxable income. Here's how it works.
$250,000 Exclusion on the Sale of a Main Home

Preparing your first tax return can feel overwhelming, but it can be empowering and rewarding. What's more, filing your taxes isn't hard. It just takes patience to make sure you've followed all the instructions.
Just Dig in and Do It

The biggest tip I can offer is to start with the 1040EZ form, and work from there. Form 1040EZ really is easy to fill out. Unfortunately, only single or married people with no dependents can use this form. You can also find out which tax form is right for you, and begin there.

You can substantially reduce or eliminate your income tax by saving for retirement, owning a home, sending your kids to college. Here's how it worked for one client.
As I was preparing the tax return for a married couple, I realized that they had the ideal tax strategy. You get everything you really want in life: lower taxes, owning a modest home, putting the kids through college, and saving for retirement. Sounds perfect, but how do the numbers work out?

Tax Strategy 1: Save in a 401k Plan

You will need to report all wages you earned from your job or jobs during the year. Your employers are required to provide you with Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. Form W-2 must be mailed out or hand-delivered to you no later than January 31st.
Gather all your W-2 statements from each job you worked during the year.
Look in Box 1 of the W-2. This is your total wages. Using a calculator, add up the Box 1 amounts from every W2.
Put the total figure on Form 1040 Line 7, Form 1040A Line 7, or Form 1040EZ Line 1.
What if I Haven't Received My W-2?

The goal of tax planning is to arrange your financial affairs so as to minimize your taxes. There are three basic ways to reduce your taxes, and each basic method might have several variations. You can reduce your income, increase your deductions, and take advantage of tax credits.
Reducing Income

Tax forms can be pretty scary. And sometimes your favorite tax software doesn't make things easier. Fortunately, there's some very basic ideas which can help you understand what taxes are all about.

Why do we have taxes at all?