Taxpayers are always on the lookout for tax deductions, tax credits and income exclusions that help trim their IRS bills. What we call tax breaks are known as tax expenditures on Capitol Hill. And they cost the U.S. Treasury a lot of money.
The Joint Committee on Taxation keeps tabs on how much money Uncle Sam could lose to tax deductions, tax credits and exclusion of income from taxes. Among the items tracked are some popular tax breaks. The final math? The top individual tax breaks will cost more than $3.5 trillion in uncollected taxes between 2011 and 2015.
Keep reading to find out how much Uncle Sam is expected to lose under the current tax system on your favorite tax breaks.