Categories: T

A fee charged every time you use the card for a certain type of transaction. Be sure to ask about fees or read the cardholder agreement associated with your card.

Money and goods received for services performed by food servers, baggage handlers, hairdressers, and others. Tips go beyond the stated amount of the bill and are given voluntarily.

An optional or extra payment a customer gives to an employee. Also called a gratuity.

A fixed or limited period of time for which something lasts or is intended to last (for example, a five-year loan, a three-year certificate of deposit, a one-year insurance policy, a 30-year mortgage).

Required payments of money to governments, which use the funds to provide public goods and services for the benefit of the community as a whole.

When someone steals your Social Security number to file a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund; may also be called tax-filing-related identity theft.

Money owed to taxpayers when their total tax payments are greater than the total tax. Refunds are received from the government.

An amount (often a personal or business expense) that reduces income subject to tax.

A dollar-for-dollar reduction in a tax. It can be deducted directly from taxes owed. Tax credits can reduce the amount of tax you owe or increase your tax refund, and some credits may result in a refund even if you don’t owe any tax.

A tax on products imported from foreign countries. This tax can increase the costs of those products, which ultimately can be passed on to consumers as higher prices.