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4 Money Saving Year End Tax Moves

It's quite tempting to brush taxes under the rug this year. This is especially true with the holidays fast approaching, however moving swiftly with your taxes will pay off later down the road. Here are four very smart tax moves that you can make right now.

Be Savvy About Your Charitable Donations

Simply by itemizing your taxes, you can write-off the money that you have given away to various charities. Make sure that you are able to show a written statement and a receipt from the charity in order to get the write-off. You could make your charitable donation of higher value by giving away your stocks instead of cash. This is especially the case since stocks are at a record high this year. To do this, you would transfer stocks to a charity's brokerage account instead of writing a check. This works in your benefit, since as long as you had the stock in your possession for more than a year, you can get a full tax deduction on the amount, as well as avoid the extensive capital gains on the stock sale.

Make Your Home Work For You

Expenses such as mortgage interest and property tax can be deducted from your taxes. On top of this, it can be very beneficial to make a couple of advance payments. This is because property taxes come in two installments, however paying your entire bill all at once at the end of the year will allow you to deduct both parts of your property tax in your taxes this year. Although it is a lot to pay all at once, if you can manage to fork over the money then it's a great way to get the most out of your deductions. This is also true for mortgage payments.

Start Your Spring Cleaning in the Winter

You can turn your kid's old toys or that old computer into cold hard cash if you donate these items to such charitable agencies as Goodwill. Remember that you can't just unload your old stuff; you need to carefully record every item that you donate as well as its value. For a big write-off, you should consider giving away big-ticket items such as jewelry or furniture.

Put More Money Into Tax Saving Savings Plans

You may put as much as $17,500 into your 401(k) this year without taxes. However, if you aren't eligible to obtain a 401(k) at work then you can put up as high as $5,500 in an IRA without taxes. By maximizing your retirement or college contributions you can bolster you savings while at the same time reducing your taxable income. To do this however, you must put the money into your 401(k) retirement account by the end of the year in order to be able to write it off. However, if you put your money into an IRA, you have until your tax deadline to do so. Making a contribution to a college savings account will not be deductible on the federal level, however there are many states that offer a deduction if you put it into a state-run savings account.