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Every year brings with it some changes to our ridiculously complex tax code. (Sometimes we could swear the IRS is in cahoots with tax preparers, constantly changing the tax code in order to keep them steadily employed!) 2010 saw its fair share of changes, especially "thanks" to the surprising end-of-the-year compromise between the White House and Republicans that resulted in the 2010 Tax Relief Act.

So, before you start preparing your 2010 taxes, let's be sure you know about all of the important new tax rules--big and small--that could impact your tax return.

Let's start with something basic to get warmed up...

Next: New Tax Rule #1