Will the fiscal cliff mean an end to your favorite tax deductions?

Tax forms
A man picks up federal tax form 1040 at a post office.
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

Mortgage deductions, 401k savings plans and other financial tools that help consumers save money cost the federal government billions of dollars of potential revenue.

With the Jan. 1 "fiscal cliff" looming and the government eager to find ways to boost revenue collection, might popular tax deductions be in danger?

In other words, can we afford to keep our favorite deductions?

John Friedman, an assistant professor of public policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, will join The Daily Circuit on Tuesday, Dec. 4. Also joining the program will be Eugene Steuerle, a fellow at the Urban Institute.

READ MORE:

Kill the 401(k)? (Slate.com)

Debt Reckoning (New York Times blog)

The Fiscal Cliff: Absolutely everything you could possibly need to know (Washington Post)