Posted on October 12, 2005 at 19:09:07:
Is it worth your while to itemize deductions? This can be questionable if your deductions are about the same as the standard deduction. But there is a way to beef up your tax savings: by “bunching” the expenses you can itemize into one year, taking as big a deduction as you can, then using the standard deduction the next year. It takes a little planning.
For instance, people usually contribute about the same amount to charities year after year. But it’s not difficult to let end-of-the-year contributions slide over to January, and then make the usual contribution next December. Result: standard deduction one year, double the amount that can be written off the next year.
The same kind of planning works for real estate taxes (that can be prepaid in December), professional fees for lawyers, elective surgery and dental work, and other discretionary times. Even child-care and other expenses usually can be shifted a few days.