The IRS sent tax lien notices to the wrong addresses for taxpayers even though the agency had the correct addresses in its system, according to a July report by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Though the agency re-sent the notices, the incorrect mailings were potentially illegal because the IRS is required by statute to notify taxpayers at their last known address within five days of filing Form 668(Y)(c), Notice of Federal Tax Lien.

Pay off your credit card debt by all means, but pay off your student loans last so that you can wring out every possible penny in deductions. Note that there are limits to how much interest you can deduct. Furthermore, your income affects whether you can use this deduction at all. For the 2015 tax year, you can deduct up to $2,500 in student loan interest if your modified AGI is $65,000 or less.

If you make more than this, then you may still be able to deduct a part of your student loan interest as long as your modified AGI is less than $80,000. So at that point the deduction ends for you. (Modified AGI is similar to AGI with the addition of certain deductions, such as IRA contributions, qualified tuition expenses, and student loan interest.)