Six Tax Moves for $10,000

2. Cool College Breaks

Would you believe that some 25% of Americans fail to take advantage of college-related tax breaks?

Remember, you don't have to have a teenager to get any of myriad college tax breaks; they can also apply if you or your spouse is attending college or even just taking carpentry or cooking courses part-time.

As an example, a family with a household income of $60,000 with a child in college and another in graduate school can pocket more than $3,000 a year with the Hope Credit (a per-student annual credit for the first two years of higher education), deducting interest paid on student loans and deducting tuition and fees for the graduate student.

The tax-advantaged college savings plans, known as 529 plans, can also boost your savings. With one of these accounts, by my calculations, you could earn $12,000 more in 15 years than you could in an equivalent taxable brokerage or mutual fund account (assuming 8% earnings per year with $2,000 in annual contributions).

And remember, even if you're getting hit with the alternative minimum tax, these are credits that, unlike many others, still apply.

3. Saving Health Care

Congress has finally put more oomph behind health savings accounts, making them a useful tool whether you're an employee looking to save on medical costs or a business owner looking to attract talent.

Like 401(k)s, HSAs allow you to set aside pretax money to pay for qualifying health care expenses, from co-payments to eye care. But HSAs must be tied to a so-called high-deductible health plan -- that is, a health insurance policy with minimum deductibles of $1,100 (individual) or $2,200 (family) for 2007.

In the past, if you participated in an HSA, you could contribute and deduct only the amount up to your actual deductible. Now, all participants get the full limit, up to $2,850 a year for individuals, $5,650 a year for families.

So if you elect a high-deductible health insurance plan, you can deposit an amount equivalent to that deductible in a personal HSA.

For instance, if you have a $4,800 deductible and file as married filing jointly, you can deposit that amount in your HSA and deduct it from your taxable income. That could save you $1,680 in taxes each year.

4. Tax Benefits for Stay-at-Home Spouses

Even if you've got a spouse at home, he or she too can be saving through an IRA called a spousal IRA. This is often forgotten, because the rules for a traditional IRA require that the IRA owners earn at least as much as they deposit each year.