原文: Hack Your Taxes Before Jan. 1

If you live in the U.S., the due date to file your tax return isn’t until next April. If you want to get some major benefits on your taxes, though, you have to take action before the end of the year: after all, in April, you’re paying taxes for the year of 2008. There are plenty of loopholes that can provide you with some significant advantages, depending on your financial situation. The list below is only a smattering of possible opportunities; it may be worth consulting with a tax professional about your own situation, especially since not all of these opportunities will be useful for everyone.

1. Make early payments. If you make your first mortgage payment of 2009 before Jan. 1, you can deduct the interest on this year’s taxes. The same goes for any property taxes that are deductible. However, if you expect to owe more taxes in 2009 than in 2008, it might be worth holding off on those payments so you can take the deductions on next year’s taxes.
2. Get elective surgery. If you’ve already paid for medical expenses this year totaling 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income, you can deduct any medical costs over that amount. If you’ve been planning to get some sort of surgery, scheduling it before the end of the year can pay off. Stocking up on your medical supplies and can also qualify, as can making improvements to your home for medical purposes (installing a ramp or pull bars, for example).
3. Take a look at your investment losses. If you’ve taken significant losses in investments recently, you can offset capital gains on your taxes or — if you have more losses than you have gains, you can reduce your taxable ordinary income by up to $3,000 on your tax return.
4. Sell a second home. If you’re working on selling a second home and you can close before Jan. 1, try to do so: a loophole closes at the end of the year that allows homeowners with multiple houses to defer the gain from the sale of other properties.
5. Buy a Honda hybrid. I’d never suggest running out and buying a car just to get a tax break, but if you’re planning to buy a Honda hybrid soon anyhow, be aware that you can get a tax credit of $525 on it — up until Jan. 1, at which point the tax credit will be eliminated. There are other credits available for other clean-fuel cars.
6. Sign up for a conference. Paying professional dues, getting certified, going to conferences and other job-related expenses are tax deductible after you’ve passed a certain threshold — two percent of your adjusted gross income. You’ll want to make the payment before the end of the year, however.
7. Give to charity. A favorite way to reduce taxes for quite a while, giving a few dollars to charity now can help your taxes come April. Quite a few charities are struggling to meet demands right now, especially food banks, by the way. Before you sign the check, however, check IRS Publication 78 to make sure that you’ll be able to deduct the donation. You don’t have to give cash, by the way.
8. Spend money on your class room. If you are an educator, you can deduct up to $250 for purchasing educational materials for your classroom.
9. Top off your retirement account. There are a whole stack of tax advantages associated with 401(k), 403(b), and IRA accounts — I won’t go into all of them right here, but check what opportunities your retirement account gives you. You may need to put more money in to get the full benefit, though.
10. Open a business. The amount of deductions you can take even if you’re just posting garage sale finds on eBay are incredible. You can deduct everything from a percentage of your mortgage to bank fees. You can even write off business debts.
11. Refinance your home. If you have to pay points to refinance your home, you can deduct them over the life of your new loan.
12. Get your taxes prepared. You can deduct the cost of having your taxes prepared either as a miscellaneous deduction on your personal return or as a business expense. The same is often true for any legal, accounting or financial planning fees that relate to tax planning.
13. Go back to school. There are both deductions and credits associated with higher education. If you pay for next semester before Jan. 1, you can take advantage of the deduction this year.
14. Search for a new job. If you’re on a job search, related expenses like hiring a resume writer or paying a fee to an employment agency can be tax deductible. If you have to move to accept a job, those expenses are also deductible.
15. Take money from Mom and Dad for your student loans. If your parents help you to pay down your student loans, you can still deduct the interest. If anyone else helps you out, though, no one gets to deduct that interest.

It’s important to remember that a lot of these moves don’t make sense if you’re just doing them for the tax break. However, if you were planning to get some sort of elective surgery or buy a Honda hybrid, for instance, it may be reasonable to move up your schedule for the tax benefit. Take a close look at your overall financial picture before moving forward. Because everyone’s situation is different, you may want to consult with a professional and rely on his advice.

Thursday Bram is a freelance journalist of over five years experience. She studied Communications at the University of Tulsa and is currently working on her MA in Communication Design. Her work has focused primarily on entrepreneurial topics. More information about Thursday is available at thursdaybram.com.

译文: 在1月1日前交税可扣减你的税额

如果你生活在美国，纳税申报表报送的截止日期不是次年4月底。但是，如果你想在税收方面获得一些较大的优惠，你必须在当年年底前采取行动：毕竟到次年4月份，你还要缴纳2008年度的税。你可根据自己的经济状况，利用有很多政策空子为您赢得一些可观的利益。下面的列表中只有零星可能的机会，这也许值得你就自己的情况与税务专业人员磋商，因为并非所有的这些机会都适合每一个人。
1、早付款。如果你2009年1月1日之前进行第一抵押权付款，你就可以扣减这年的税款利息，其它任何可扣除的财产税也是一样。然而，如果你希望在2009年比2008年欠更多的税款，也许应该推迟支付这些款项，这样你可以在下一年税款中扣减。
2、接受选择性手术。如果你已经支付了调整后的毛收入的百分之七点五的医疗费用，今年，可以扣除超过这一数额的任何医疗费用。如果您一直在计划接受某种手术，就将手术安排在你能付清款的今年年底之前。医疗用品存储在家也是好办法，这样可以帮助改善你家庭的医疗效果（例如建一个坡道或一些拉杆）。
3、看看你的投资损失。如果最近你已经有了重大的投资损失，你就可以抵消你资本收益的税款-如果你的损失超过了你的收益，你可以在纳税申报单上将你应纳税的普通收入缩减3000美元。
4、出售二手房。如果你正致力于销售二手房，并且你可以在明年1月1日之前结束，请尝试这样去做：钻一个这样的空子-即截止到今年年底，允许拥有多套房屋的房主推迟其他财产销售的收益。

5、购买一辆本田混合动力车。我从未建议为了获得减税，在旧车报废后再买新车，但如果你打算不久后无论如何要购买本田混合动力车，就必须意识到，你这样可以得到525美元的税收抵免-截止到1月1日，这项税收抵免政策将被取消。还有用于其他清洁燃料汽车的贷款。
6、注册一个会议。交纳会费，获得认证，在您通过一个门槛-缴纳调整后的毛收入百分之二的会费后，参加会议和其他与工作有关的开支都可以扣税。但是您需要在今年年底前支付。
7、捐款给慈善机构。这是一种长期减税的最好方法，现在给慈善机构捐一些款，可以允许您到次年4月份纳税。不少慈善机构现在都在努力满足这种需求，尤其是粮食机构。在你签署支票以前，要核对美国税局公布的78号文件，以确保你可以扣除相当捐赠数额的税款。您不需要支付现金。
8、把钱花在你的班级。如果你是一位教育工作者，你可以扣除高达250美元的、用于购买学生教材的税额。
9、完成你的退休帐户。有许多税收优惠与401 （ k ）、403 （ b ）和个人退休帐户有关-在此，我不想直接调查所有的这些帐户，但要核实能给你的退休帐户带来哪些机会。然而，你如果要得到充分的利益，可能需要投入更多的资金。
10、开设一个业务，即使你在易趣网上公布旧货出售时，你发现可以接受的折扣数额是令人难以置信的。你可以对每一样物品扣除相当你银行抵押款一个百分点的费用。你甚至可以注销交易债务。
11、再为你家筹款。如果您有支付项目而需要为你家再筹款，你可以扣除超出你新的借款的部分税款。

12、做好纳税准备。你可以在你的纳税申报表上以杂项或经营费用的名义从你的纳税准备费用中扣除。同样也可以以与纳税计划有关的、合法的会计或税务计划费的名义扣除。

13、回到学校。与高等教育相关的有扣减和信贷这两种方式。如果您在1月1日之前支付下学期费用，你今年可以享受税额扣除的优惠。
14、寻找新的工作。如果你在寻找工作，聘请人撰写简历的费用或付给就业机构的费用都可以免税。如果您已搬家去接受一份工作，这些搬家费用也可减税。
15、从你的父母那里拿助学贷款。如果你的父母帮你支付了您的学生贷款，你仍然可以扣除利息。如果是别人帮助你的话，就不能扣减利息。
必须要记住的是：如果你只是为了享受税收优惠，那么你大量采取这些行动是没有意义的。然而，如果你正计划接受某种选择性的手术或购买本田混合动力车，那么提升你的税收优惠计划可能是合理的举动。但你在行动前仔细审视自己的总体财务状况。因为每个人的情况各不相同，你可以咨询专业人士，并听从他的建议。