The most valuable tax breaks

These tax breaks were the 10 most valuable for taxpayers in 2011.

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1. Exclusion of employer contributions for medical insurance premiums and medical care

This provision was worth $173.7 billion in 2011.

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

2. Mortgage interest deduction

This provision was worth $88.8 billion in 2011.

Jim R. Bounds / BLOOMBERG

3. 401(k) plans

This provision began in 2001 and was worth $62.9 billion in 2011.

Andrei Tchernov / istockimages

4. Earned income tax credit

This provision began in 1975 and was worth $62.5 billion in 2011.

KACPER PEMPEL / REUTERS

5. Step-up basis of capital gains at death

This provision began in 1977 and was worth $50.9 billion in 2011.

Scott Eells / BLOOMBERG

6. Exclusion of net imputed rental income

This provision began in 2004 and was worth $47 billion in 2011.

/ AP Photo

7. Making Work Pay tax credit

This provision began in 2009 and was worth $44 billion in 2011. Here, Vice President Joe Biden looks on as President Obama signs into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which includes this tax credit.

Gerald Herbert / AP Photo

8. Child credit

This provision began in 1997 and was worth $42.5 billion in 2011.

Rick Bowmer / AP Photo

9. Employer plans

This provision was worth $42.2 billion in 2011.

Eric Audras / GETTY IMAGES

10. Deductibility of charitable contributions, other than education and health

This provision was worth $38.2 billion in 2011.

/ AP Photo

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

SILVER SPRING MD: MAY 18
from left to right, Bodybuilders Jorge Villatoro, Sidney Bumbrey, Eric Holmes and Ron Coleman show off their most muscular poses for the judges at the 2013 Musclemania - Capital Tournament of Champions Contest held at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center in Silver Spring, Maryland on May 18, 2013.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Flexing their muscles

Dozens of bodybuilders came out to Silver Spring to compete in the 2013 Musclemania Capital Tournament of Champions.

Kriket Krekemeyer cries while cleaning up her tornado-ravaged home in Moore, Okla., Wednesday, May 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Mike Simons)

Photos of the day

Oklahoma tornado wreckage, London terrorism attack, NASA’s Dream Chaser, Triton unmanned aircraft and more.

A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Terrorism cited in London cleaver attack

Two assailants hacked to death a British soldier on a busy southeast London neighborhood street Wednesday afternoon before delivering an apparent...

MOORE, OK - MAY 22: A street of tornado destructed homes is reflected on a puddle of water on May 22, 2013 in Moore, Ok. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Assessing tornado damage in Oklahoma

Amid great destruction, residents of the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore begin to assess the severity of the twister that hit Monday.

WASHINGTON DC: MAY 22
Contestant Travis Rumans, 31 dances with his beloved glow sticks for talent at Penn Social in Washington, DC on May 22, 2013. The contestants help raise over $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The Mr. DC pageant is a fundraising event to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
The qualifications for the Mr. District of Columbia finalists is that they must live, work and attend school in the District of Columbia between the ages of 21-30 who are unmarried, intelligent, and dapper in a suit.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Mr. D.C. Pageant contestants compete for charity

Contestants in the Mr. D.C. Pageant, a fundraising event, helped raise more than $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

US comedian Jerry Lewis laughs on May 23, 2013 during a press confrence for the film 'Max Rose' presented Out of Competition at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. Cannes, one of the world's top film festivals, opened on May 15 and will climax on May 26 with awards selected by a jury headed this year by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg. AFP PHOTO / LOIC VENANCELOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images

Eye on entertainment

Jerry Lewis, Kat Graham, Zachary Quinto, Aerosmith, Carly Rae Jepsen and more.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

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