Taxpayers impacted by Hurricane Gustav have extra time to take care of any tax matters. The Internal Revenue Service has extended deadlines for filing returns and submitting payments. The new deadline is January 5, 2009, for the following tax matters:

• Personal tax returns for 2007 that would have been due October 15th, 2008;
• Estimated tax payments that would have been due September 15th, 2008;
• Corporate tax returns for 2007 that would have been due September 15th, 2008;
• Partnership, trust, and payroll returns that would have been due between September 1, 2008, and before January 5, 2009.

Taxpayers suffering damage can claim a deduction for casualty losses on either their 2007 or their 2008 tax returns. Claiming the loss on a 2007 return could result in a quicker refund, thereby creating some cash flow to help with recovery efforts.

More information from the IRS:

• Tax Relief in Disaster Situations
• Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts

Head of Household is one of five different filing status options available to taxpayers, and is often the most advantageous filing status for single parents.

The Head of Household status is available for taxpayers who are unmarried and who are caring for a child, parent, or other close family member living in the same household with them. That seems pretty easy to understand. What makes this filing status complicated is that both the unmarried and the qualifying person criteria can be complex. Read more...

Can you use a Health Savings Account to save extra for retirement? That's the suggestion from personal finance blogger "Mr. ToughMoneyLove," who urges investors to consider "Using Your Health Savings Account as a 'Super Roth' Investment Vehicle."

The blogger recommends a strategy of accumulating contributions made to an health savings account (HSA) and not making any withdrawals until retirement age. This has the benefit of letting the savings grow and the earnings accumulate and compound. In a sense, deferring withdrawals as long as possible will allow taxpayers to turbo charge their retirement savings in addition to other savings plans they might have, such as 401(k) plans and IRAs.

My colleague Shelley Elmblad, About.com's Financial Software Guide, asked me if this strategy was sound. Technically, the strategy is sound, but I do have strong reservations about the feasibility of the strategy. Here's why. Read more...

The mortgage interest deduction is certainly one of the most popular of all tax deductions. Taxpayers can take a deduction against their taxable income for mortgage interest paid during the year.

But what if someone else makes some or all of the mortgage payments? Who gets the deduction? I can think of three answers to this question, depending on the situation involved.

If the person making the payments is a co-owner of the property and is also on the mortgage loan, then the taxpayers will need to split the deduction amongst themselves. The deduction should be split based on how much interest each person actually paid.

If the person making the payments is not a co-owner of the property, then that person cannot take the deduction. The mortgage interest deduction is only available to people who own the property and who are legally liable for repaying the loan (that is, are the borrowers on the mortgage loan). That means the owner would take the deduction for the mortgage interest. The person making the payments is doing so as a gift, (for example, a daughter helping her mom with the mortgage payments) then there might be some gift tax reporting to do if the total gifts during the year exceed $12,000 per recipient.

Finally, if the person making the payments is living in the house and isn't a co-owner, this would be considered rental income for the owner of the house. The owner would report the rental income and mortgage interest. The tenant would not get a deduction.

Resources from the IRS Web site:

• Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction
• More than one borrower section of Pub 936, discussing how to allocate the deduction among co-owners
• Home Mortgage Interest FAQ