While college expenses can be overwhelming, knowing these potential tax benefits may help you make the financial burden of higher education less taxing.

When it comes to identity-related tax fraud, it's not as tough as you might think (or hope). The reason is much more frightening: There is no need to be a savvy hacker to get all the information to commit identity-related tax fraud. You just need to be creative and persistent.

Because of the numerous additional factors that now apply to your situation, there are likely many new concerns or questions you have once you start checking off boxes on your tax forms.

Sure the tax code is convoluted and April seems so far away, but consumers should seek out expert advice and learn as much as they can about tax basics and how financial products and decisions impact liability.