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Each personal exemption you are able to claim on your yearly tax return is the equivalent of roughly $3400. Children, parents, spouses and other qualifying dependents can allow you to adjust your withholding considerably. If one of your family members passes away over the course of a year, the tax deduction associated with your loved one is probably the last thing on your mind. However, there are several things you will need to consider about your federal income tax when you are confronted with the death of a dependent family member.

First, if your dependent dies over the course of the year, you may still claim them on your income tax for that period. There is no time limit on this stipulation; even if your dependent passes away in January, the deceased is still considered your dependent for that fiscal year.

Second, you should remember to notify Social Security when your dependent passes away. Many funeral directors voluntarily provide this information directly to the Social Security office; however, it is still legally the family's responsibility to take care of the notification. Talk to your funeral director and see if this arrangement can be made on your behalf.

And finally, even though it may be the last thing you are worried about, don't forget to speak to your employer about changing the withholding on your paycheck. You want to make sure that the tax withheld for your filing status accurately reflects the number of dependents you currently have. Since you will be able to claim your deceased dependent in the first year, it will not make much of a difference during that time. But if you forget to take care of it within that year, you could be in for a nasty surprise the second year if your withholding amount is too low.

You probably know all about claiming your child as a dependent on your federal income tax to offset your own income. But what if your child has income of his or her own? Interest on an investment, inheritance or trust fund, or later, even a summer job can be a reason for your child to file his or her own tax return, even if you are claiming your child as a dependent. So its important to understand what that entails for tax purposes.

First of all, your child CANNOT take a personal exemption if he or she can be claimed as a dependent on someone elses taxes. The personal exemption is usually a rather hefty deduction, in the vicinity of $3,650 for 2009. Even if neither parent does claim the exemption for the dependent child, if they do qualify for it, the mere fact they are entitled to the exemption disqualifies the child from claiming it.

However, your child CAN take what is called a standard deduction in a fixed amount. The rules for the size of the standard deduction for a dependent child are rather complicated, but they depend on how much earned income the child had in a given year (as opposed to unearned investment income, which is not considered for qualification purposes). Basically, your childs standard deduction should be the greater of the following two amounts:

• The minimum standard deduction for dependents (which was $950 in 2009), or:
• The total of the childs earned income, plus a base amount (which was $300 in 2009), but not more than the regular standard deduction for a non-dependent person ($5,700 in 2009).

Confused yet? Basically, your dependent childs deduction starts at $950, and if they earn any income such as through a summer job or newspaper route they need to earn more than $650 in order to see any increase in the standard deduction. After that, each dollar earned will increase the standard deduction by a dollar (essentially making the earnings tax-free), until your child earns $5,700 the amount that would be allowed as a deduction if your child were not a dependent.

First National Community Bank (FNCB) is offering a highly competitive 1.75% APY on its Maximum Earnings Savings Account . Here are some details of the account:

• No monthly service fees
• No minimum balance requirements
• Interest earned on balances of $.01 or more
• 6 pre-authorized withdrawals allowed...

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• $1 minimum to open
• No monthly service charges
• 3 transactions allowed per month (includes direct deposit, third party payments,...

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Hanscom Federal Credit Union in both Massachusetts and Virginia is offering a competitive 1.65% APY on balances of $25,000 or more on its Higher-Yield Savings Account Rate . Here are some details of the account:

• Unlimited deposits to the account
• 1 withdrawal per month ($25 charge for each...

Granite State Credit Union is offering a competitive 1.90% APY on the Advantage Plus Savings Account . The minimum balance to open account and earn this interest rate is $50,000. Here are some additional details of the account:

• Unlimited deposits
• 3 withdrawals allowed each month
• Rates are...

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Getting married to the person you love is an exciting venture that brings with it the promise of many happy days. But of course, we all know that marriage is not solely based on love; much of what makesa marriage work involves good communication and planning for the future.

If you've just gotten...