In the UK, the financial year is coming to an end and so once again, people are talking about their savings accounts.

Every year, we Brits are allowed to put a certain amount of money in a special savings account called a cash Isa. The money we make in interest from the money we put into these accounts can’t be touched by the tax man, making them a perfectly legal way to get one over on him.

Mercifully, our financial goings-on are kept private unlike the stars that grace our screens and magazine covers. Here’s a look at five celebrities who have run into trouble with the IRS in recent years with their less-than-legal tax manoeuvres.

1. Wesley Snipes

The Blade and Demolition Man actor was sentenced to three years in prison back in 2008, after being found guilty of three counts of willfully failing to file federal tax returns between 1999 and 2001.

Snipes unpaid tax bill was around $15 million, which he owed because of false tax refund applications and money kept in offshore accounts. His tax advisers Eddie Ray Kahn and Douglas Rosile were also jailed, for 10 years and 54 months respectively.

2. Nicolas Cage

Star of such films as Face-Off, Con Air and Leaving Las Vegas, Nicolas Cage faced accusations of tax evasion in 2009.

The IRS filed a claim that Cage had unpaid tax bills amounting to around $6 million in 2007. Cage denied any wrong-doing on his part, blaming his business manager for the tax errors. The IRS foreclosed on the actor’s Las Vegas home in November that year.

3. Prince

The artist formerly known as Prince, then the love symbol, was reported to have run into tax problems last year, after Carver County tax records showed that his PRN Music Cop. had unpaid tax bills amounting to £227,000 for the previous year.

4. Annie Leibovitz

Legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz, best known for her celebrity portraits, was met with tax troubles in 2009, with public records showing the shutterbug faced tax liens of $1.4 million over the previous two years.

5. Chris Tucker

Comedian and actor Chris Tucker, best known for his roles in the Rush Hour movies, was last year served with IRS documents relating to $11 million, according to TMZ.com, for the years 2001, 2002 and from 2004 to 2006.

Though the US doesn’t have a straight equivalent of a cash ISA, a savings account of any kind is always a sensible idea to help you pay for the little surprises that life throws our way.

Would you be able to foot the auto repair bills if your car’s transmission failed? Would you have the cash to tide you over if you found yourself unable to work for an extended period because of sickness or injury? If you’re thinking to yourself no, then now may be a good time to look into it!

This post was written by Money Supermarket.

The following is a post from staff writer Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, where she writes about finding the balance between paying your bills, saving for your future, and budgeting in the fun stuff along the way.

Tax time is coming fast and you may be looking for some ways to lower your taxable base income. I know we were! This can be done by taking advantage of every single tax deduction and tax credit that you possibly can get.

Here are the top 5 tax deductions and credits that you may qualify for:

Education Tax Credits

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has made provisions for higher education credits for people going back to college. It is known as the American Opportunity Tax Credit and it pays up to $2,500 for the first four years of college. Anyone with an adjusted gross income below $80,000 is eligible for this student loan tax credit.

If you are going back to school to earn a graduate degree, take a look at the Tuition and Fees Deduction and the Lifetime Learning Credit. We were able to save us a couple of thousand dollars through the Lifetime Learning Credit ”thanks” to my husband’s 2010 graduate school expenses.

Capital Gains Taxes or Investment Losses

Taxes on your capital gains are usually lower for most investors than their income tax rate. The average capital gains tax rate is just 15% on investments held for more than one year. The reduced capital gains tax rate can save the average taxpayer a lot of money.

If you actually lost money on your investments instead, remember to declare those losses on your taxes too. You can also claim losses from real estate or theft.

Charitable Contributions

Some people fail to take advantage of all of the deductions they can get from donating money to charity. Contributions to churches, not for profits, and other recognized charities can shave hundreds or thousands of dollars off of your tax burden. It’s not only the cash contributions that qualify. Cars, clothes, food, and supplies donated to charity qualify for a deduction too. One thing to keep in mind though is that all of your deductions will need to add up to more than your standard deduction before itemizing will make sense.

Retirement Deductions

Remember that any money that you contributed to your 401(k) or a Traditional IRA will lower your overall taxable income. People with moderate incomes and lower income individuals get a dual benefit as well since they get the normal taxable income reduction and are eligible for a retirement tax credit as well.

Medical Expenses

Did you have a major operation during the year or incur some other major medical expense? You can take a tax deduction for any medical expenses that exceeded 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. Self-employed business owners can go ahead and fully deduct all of their health insurance premiums.

What other tax deductions or credits should we all keep our eyes open for? I remembered to keep up with all of my blogging expenses, which helped offset the taxes on my overall profits a bit. Did you have something similar to deduct Anything we may all want to keep in mind?