Your Taxes : Forget-Me-Nots

What are among the nation’s most overlooked tax deductions?

* Child care credit. Some people think this credit is just for low-income families. It’s not. If you pay for child care so that both parents can work, you’re entitled to a credit equaling 20% to 30% of your child care expenses up to set amounts.

* Parental support. Those who furnish more than half of the total support of a parent or other individual--whether they’re a child, in-law or friend--can claim a personal exemption for that “dependent.” However, make sure no one else is claiming the same dependent, or you could trigger an audit.

* Gambling losses. Unless you’re a professional gambler, you can’t deduct gambling losses. But if you had gambling winnings, you can reduce them by the value of all your lost bets in the same year.

* DMV taxes. Only a small amount of your annual DMV registration cost is a non-deductible fee. The rest is a tax that can be deducted under “other taxes paid” on your itemized deduction form.

* Self-employed health insurance. Self-employed individuals can deduct up to 25% of the cost of their 1993 health insurance premiums on their 1993 returns, subtracted directly from gross income. The on-again, off-again nature of this tax break causes many people to overlook it.

About This Report

Today’s “Your Taxes” report, Pages D6 through D11, is a guide to preparing 1993 income tax returns. All stories were written by Kathy M. Kristof, The Times’ personal finance columnist.