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- Amy Geiszler-Jones

Take advantage of the fall season by harvesting some tax breaks, says a personal finance expert at WSU.

You can use the remainder of the year to reduce what you’ll owe in taxes by making a few financial changes, says Rick LeCompte, associate professor of finance in the W. Frank Barton School of Business. Here are a few tips:

• Sign up for an employer’s flexible spending plan. Many employers allow you to contribute earnings before deducting taxes in a flexible spending plan for health care and child care expenses. If you already have such accounts, "find ways to spend it productively," he says, by filling prescriptions, purchasing eyeglasses or scheduling a dental exam before the year ends.
• Set up a traditional IRA account, if you’re eligible.
• Add more to your 401K account to take it to the maximum contribution.
• Accelerate any tax-deductible expenses. If you have such expenses coming up in January, pay them in November or December instead.
• Be charitable. "If you’re in a situation to give to children or grandchildren, give them money as gifts to escape estate taxes," LeCompte says. And don’t forget to give to your favorite charities.
• Sell losing stock. If you’ve lost $1,000 in one company’s stock but gained $1,000 in another, sell the stocks in both to cancel any gains. You also can sell just the losing stock to offset your traditional income or gains in other investments.
• Delay getting payments. If you work on a cash basis, bill your customer later so that the payment comes in January and won’t be reflected as 1999 income.