For those of you that will owe tax come April 15, there are a number of things that you can do to reduce your taxes before year-end. One of the first and most obvious remedies is to make a contribution to one of your retirement accounts, such as your IRA or 401(k) plan. Of course, if you have a Roth IRA, then no current deduction will be available, but pension and profit-sharing plan contributions will be. Another strategy for those who itemize deductions is to pay both your January mortgage payment and any real estate taxes due at year end in December, so that they can be deducted in the current year. Just remember to add your mortgage interest for the month of January onto the interest recorded on your 1098 form. For those of you who with capital gains to declare, this could be a good time to unload some losers in your taxable portfolio that could offset your gains. The key is to allow more than 31 days to elapse between the sale and repurchase of the losing security, so that the loss is not disallowed under the wash sale rule. A variation on this is to swap a losing stock for an exchange-traded fund that invests in the same sector. For example, if you have a major gain to declare, but also own a tech stock that has declined substantially in value, then it might be a good idea to sell the tech stock and use the proceeds to buy an exchange-traded fund that invests in tech stocks. This allows you to declare a loss against your gains and diversify your holdings as well. But back to itemized deductions, if you are on the edge of being able to itemize, and are just a little short, try to make a charitable donation of an amount that will put you over the threshold. If you can’t spare any cash, give a gift of clothing or other noncash goods. These donations will often count for more than you might think, especially if the goods donated are in relatively good condition. For more information on how you can reduce your taxes for the year, consult your tax advisor.