• Taxes

    10 Ways to Lower Your 2009 Taxes

    With less than two months left in the year, it's time to start considering year-end money moves to reduce your 2009 tax burden. To help spur some ideas, MSN Money has ten suggestions as follows:

    Boost your 401k contributions
    Make the most of your flexible spending account
    Buy a house
    Buy a car
    Sell losing investments
    Maximize your tax credits and deductions
    Pay college bills
    Give to a charity
    Max out tax breaks for the self-employed
    Keep track of medical expenses

    Ok, we didn't say they were ten good suggestions. Anytime you have to spend a few hundred thousand dollars (like to buy a house) to get an $8,000 tax credit, it's probably not a good deal. Then again, if it's a question of buying now or a few weeks from now, get a move on and save yourself eight grand!

    To give them credit, there are several that make good sense — many people can benefit from boosting their 401k contributions, making the most of flexible spending accounts, selling losing investments (anyone out there have any?), and giving to a charity. Pretty basic ideas, but if nothing else, this piece reminds us that the year is ending soon and any appropriate tax-reducing measures we want to take need to happen quickly.

    10 ways to lower your 2009 taxes now [MSN Money]

    FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: The Consumerist)

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