The end of the year is a traditional time for business gift giving. Companies like to say thank you to customers, suppliers, and employees, and show their appreciation for the business relationship. Each business makes its own decision on who should receive a gift and how much to spend. But the IRS has a separate set of rules on how you must treat gifts for tax purposes.

Did you know that you still have a few weeks to use your annual gift tax exclusion for 2005? This year, you can give up to $11,000 each to as many people as you want without adding to your gift tax liability. You can use this tax break in many ways: for example, in your estate planning, as part of an income-shifting strategy, or to fund a child’s education.

IRAs and 401(k) plans offer tax-favored ways to set aside money for your retirement. But what if you need to tap into your savings before you reach retirement? At a minimum, there’s usually a 10% penalty if you withdraw funds before you reach age 59½.

You work hard to squeeze out every last deduction and credit, hoping for a bigger tax refund. You file your return. Then you move to a new address and forget all about that refund. Hard to believe? Yet it happened to over 84,000 taxpayers this year!

Have you decided to roll over your balance in one IRA into another IRA? Or perhaps you’ve changed jobs and need to move the balance in your 401(k) plan into an IRA. The rules allow you to make these kinds of rollovers without paying taxes. But if you do it the wrong way, you could end up scrambling for cash.

Congress quickly passed a tax bill to bring relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina, and President Bush signed the bill into law on September 23, 2005. Most of the law’s provisions benefit victims of the disaster, but some tax breaks apply to all taxpayers. Here’s an overview.

There are many tax breaks to help you save for college expenses, including tax credits, deductions, and tax-favored savings accounts. But some of the most generous and flexible are the "Section 529" plans. These plans come in two varieties. One type lets you prepay future tuition expenses, while the other is a savings account for higher education expenses.

Are you a homeowner or a future car buyer? If so, you could qualify for some new tax breaks from an unlikely source – the energy bill signed by the President on August 8, 2005. Several new tax credits take effect in 2006, intended to promote energy savings.

You’ve just graduated from high school or college and you’re about to start your first full-time job. Here are a few tax reminders as you set out.

The tax code tries to be helpful to the disabled. It excludes some income from tax, it allows special deductions, and it gives tax credits. It also offers tax credits to businesses for employing the disabled and improving disabled access. Here’s a quick review of some of the special tax breaks.

After a summer wedding and a dream honeymoon, it’s back to the real world. Along with thank you notes for the wedding gifts, there’s some other paperwork you should deal with. It’s smart to get your tax affairs in order before tax season is upon you.

Do you participate in a Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) at work? If so, you know all about “use it or lose it.” That’s the year-end scramble to spend the pretax dollars left in your account. But now there may be partial relief. Recent regulations may give you 2½ months longer to spend your money.

If you run a family business, why not give your child a job for the summer? If you do it right, your child can earn some extra cash and gain good experience, and your business will receive a tax deduction.

The tax code offers a couple of tax breaks for first-time homebuyers. You might think you qualify only if you’ve never bought a home before. Not true! You’d be surprised who counts as a first-time homebuyer.

A relatively new idea in health insurance offers tax breaks for participants and lower costs for sponsors. It’s called a Health Savings Account (HSA). With an HSA you get insurance against major illness plus the chance to pay for your smaller medical expenses with pre-tax dollars.

If you itemize deductions, you should check whether you’d be better off deducting state sales tax instead of state income tax this year. Congress gave taxpayers the option of deducting one or the other for 2004 and 2005. But that option expires at the end of this year.

Did you know your personal vehicle can be a source of tax savings? Even if you don’t use it in business, you may be able to claim a number of tax deductions. For example:

There’s been a lot of talk about social security payments lately. You might be wondering how big your social security check will be and whether you’ll owe taxes on it.

It’s not always easy to claim a deduction for medical expenses. First, you have to itemize deductions; then you can deduct only those medical expenses in excess of 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.

Have you heard about solo 401(k) plans? The traditional type of 401(k) retirement plan is now available for self-employed individuals. And it lets you save more than other types of plans.

Business tax credits are valuable because they provide a dollar-for-dollar offset to the taxes you owe. Some business tax credits are specific to certain industries, but others are more generally applicable. Here are a few credits that might be available to your business. These include three credits related to hiring workers, two to improving buildings, and one for providing employee pensions.

If you’re a teacher, you probably dig into your own pocket from time to time to buy badly needed classroom supplies. Late last year, Congress extended a tax break that allows you to deduct some or all of this type of expense. The deduction had expired at the end of 2003, but it’s now reinstated for 2004 and extended through 2005.

If you’ve given up itemizing deductions, you’re not alone. These days over half of all taxpayers find they’re better off using the standard deduction. But even if you take the standard deduction, you can also deduct some individual expenses. Consider the following.

Have you moved within the last year? If so, the IRS might be holding a refund check for you. Currently the IRS has over 87,000 refund checks that are undeliverable. At an average of $836 per check, that’s over $73 million waiting to be collected.

A change in the Roth IRA rules takes effect on January 1, 2005. This new rule, which applies specifically to people over the age of 70½, will make it easier for seniors to convert their traditional IRAs to a Roth IRA.