Even though many were eliminated by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, tax shelters are still around. Beware, however, because some are legitimate, while others are not. American taxpayers have the right to...

Even though many were eliminated by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, tax shelters are still around. Beware, however, because some are legitimate, while others are not. American taxpayers have the right to lower their tax burdens, so long as they do it by legal means. This project will help you to learn about any tax shelters currently allowed by law.

Where can you go to find tax shelter opportunities? First, try the financial section of your newspaper. There may be advertisements or articles on tax shelters, such as tax-free bond funds. A bank is another source. Simply ask at the “new accounts” department for tax shelter information. Another major source of new tax shelters is the brokerage houses that sell stocks, bonds, and other securities to the investing public. If you have access to a brokerage house, ask them for tax shelter information. Also, you might want to search for “tax shelters” on the Internet.

List the tax shelters you’ve found. Do any apply to you now, or are there any that you’d like to use in the future? Finally, pull up the IRS Web site at http://www.irs.gov and search for “abusive tax shelters” to determine if the tax shelters you have found are allowed by current tax laws.