Deductions You Shouldn't Skip

That's why you should also tally any cell-phone calls that pertain to your investments. If you're constantly on the phone with your broker or adviser, be sure to go through your phone bills and include those calls as part of your miscellaneous itemized deductions, too.

Same goes for subscriptions to professional journals that are not reimbursed by your employer.

Do the same for your medical expenses. Those expenses need to exceed 7.5% of your AGI to be deductible, but again, they can add up quickly. So total all your medical expenses that weren't reimbursed by your health insurance. Include fees for childbirth classes if they are part of your obstetrical care, and the cost of any alcohol and drug treatment centers that you were in last year.

A Worthless Reminder

And finally, if you have shares of worthless securities or stock, and you have documentation to prove they're now nothing more than drawing paper for your kids, then be sure to claim that loss on your tax return.

We wrote about this a few weeks ago, but as a refresher, worthless securities are treated as though they were sold on the last day of the tax year. So report them on Schedule D -- Capital Gains and Losses, either on line 1, if you held the shares for a year or less, or line 8, if you held them longer. In columns (c) and (d), write "Worthless" instead of filling in a date sold or a sale price. Your loss will be the difference between what you originally paid for the shares and zero.

So, don't forget all these esoteric items that will help lower your tax bill. You're entitled to deduct this stuff, so do it!

Hang in there! The end is near!

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints