Tax experts' best tips to save you money

• Aim for zero but if you get a refund%2C make it count
• Avoid costly math mistakes and prevent the likelihood of an audit
• Safeguard your identity and don%27t forget to utilize retirement benefits

Nobody expects you to know everything about income taxes. With the Internal Revenue Code about five times longer than the Bible, that's not practical, anyway.

But there are some common-sense tips that tax experts have been preaching for awhile,

These best-practices pointers can improve your financial situation and prevent unpleasant surprises:

• Aim for zero. Although it's nice to receive a tax refund around April 15, it's not the best strategy. A refund is just another way of saying you finally got your money back on the interest-free loan you gave the government. The other extreme — owing a big tax bill around April 15 — isn't smart, either, especially if you struggle to pay it.

Ideally, you should plan your withholding and other tax tactics so that you either get a minimal refund or owe just a bit more in taxes after filing your return. A big zero on the tax owed/due lines might not be interesting, but it's a laudable goal.

•Make your refund count. Assuming you get money back, it's important that you don't squander it. For lower-income people, especially, a refund could be the biggest chunk of cash they receive all year.

The American Institute of CPAs suggests a simple decision hierarchy on how to use your refund. First, spend it on food, shelter, health care or other basic needs, if necessary. Otherwise, build up your emergency fund. If there's money left, pay down debt. It's critical to have a plan to maximize the benefits from a refund, said Ernie Almonte,

On the debt side, focus on credit cards charging the highest interest rate, the group suggests.

As for emergency cash, three months used to be the suggested standard. But because it's still hard to find well-paying jobs, it would be more prudent to build up a reserve of at least six months.

•Add it all up, then check it twice. The IRS recently reported that it spotted 2.7 million math errors on 2011 returns, more than double the number from the prior year. If you don't want to get a letter from the agency, emphasize accuracy when preparing your return.

The biggest math mistakes involved inaccurate tax calculations, followed by an incorrect number or dollar amount of exemptions. Then came errors involving the Earned Income Tax Credit, followed by those for standard or itemized deductions, the Child Tax Credit and the First-Time Homebuyer Credit.

While you're at it, make sure you spell your name and those of your spouse and dependents correctly, and verify that everyone's Social Security number is accurate.

•Know your audit odds. There is safety in numbers around tax time, with the IRS auditing 1.03% of individual returns in the most recent year. While that's a low proportion, certain activities and behaviors can put you at greater risk.

High income is one factor. Only 0.9% of people with income of less than $200,000 faced an audit in 2011, but 12.1% of those earning at least $1 million did. Certain business categories also face heightened IRS scrutiny, including "flow-through entities" such as partnerships and Subchapter-S corporations, as do self-employed individuals who file Schedule C. In fact, Schedule-C filers earning between $100,000 and $200,000 face especially high odds, with 4.3% of these returns audited.

Researcher CCH cites several types of deduction attempts that raise red flags for a good reason: They aren't allowed. These include a loss on your home, excessive moving expenses and medical deductions for unneeded cosmetic surgery.

Nobody draws scrutiny like parents adopting a child. A staggering 69% of returns claiming the adoption credit were audited last year, noted Nina Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate.

•Safeguard your identity. Although most people fear audits, being victimized by tax fraud could be the bigger risk. The IRS said it prevented fraudulent refund payments last year on about 3 million returns, or three times the number it audited.

Taxpayer ID thefts mainly involve fraudulent requests for refunds using another person's Social Security number.. Crooks typically file early, before the actual taxpayer, and have the refund check diverted to them. When a crook gets there first, that can delay a refund to the real taxpayer for six months or more while the IRS investigates.

Such thefts also cost the federal government, because a refund eventually will be paid to the rightful taxpayer even after payment of a fraudulent refund.

All this should serve as a reminder to safeguard personal information.. One thing that many people probably don't secure as they should is a smartphone. Adam Levin, chairman of Credit.com, discourages people from storing Social Security numbers and those for credit or bank accounts on phones. "Make sure to delete all documents and e-mails containing sensitive information from your phone," he wrote in a report.

Levin also suggests restricting access to your phone by using a password and not staying logged into banking or other sensitive apps for long. He likened that to leaving a credit card on top of your desk.

•Don't neglect retirement. The government is willing to subsidize retirement planning through Individual Retirement Accounts, 401(k)-style workplace programs and more, yet many people underutilize these benefits.

"Many individuals are still missing out on the long-term savings benefits of IRAs, simply because they don't understand what they are and how they work," said Dan Keady, director of financial planning for investment firm TIAA-CREF. In a recent poll, 80% of people surveyed by TIAA-CREF said they aren't weren't contributing to an IRA, up from 76% last year.

Yes, the rules are complex, especially for the different types of IRAs. And socking money into a retirement account means you have less cash to spend now. Plus, the accounts impose restrictions for accessing the money, especially if you're still working.

Yet, retirement accounts remain one of the best ways to accumulate wealth, and there has been some talk lately of restricting their tax benefits as the government grapples with its own financial pressures. While it's uncertain how endangered retirement tax benefits might be, it's best to take advantage of them while you can.

Reach Wiles at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8616.