Quick advice you might have missed.

Maximize retirement plan contributions.  
Make sure that you are contributing the maximum amount to your retirement plans (e.g., 401(k)s, 403(b)s, SIMPLE, IRAs, SEPs and / or Keogh plans).  If your employer makes matching contributions, then make sure that you are contributing enough to take full advantage of the match feature.

Tax Advantage of Flexible Spending Accounts. 
If established by your employer, then consider using pre-tax wages to pay for eligible health and / or dependent care expenses. 

Gift appreciated stocks rather than cash to charities. 
Gifts of stock to a charity have a very significant tax advantage. You receive a tax deduction for the fair market value of the stock given.  However, you do not have to pay the capital gain tax as you would if you had sold the property and then contributed the proceeds.

Gift Capital Gain Property to Children. 
If you are in a 25% tax bracket or higher, you have an incentive to give stock or mutual funds to your children who are in a 10% or 15% tax bracket.  If your child has attained age 18 and is in the 15% bracket, then any sale by them of capital gain property will be taxed at a rate of 5% instead of the 15% rate that you would pay.  This technique is especially beneficial when the child needs money to go to college.

Make Use of the Annual Gift Tax Exclusion. 
If you have or expect to have a taxable estate, you can make a significant reduction in your taxable estate by making gifts of $12,000 to your children and to other donees.  If your spouse lacks separate resources to take advantage of the exclusion, you can give $24,000 to each donee provided that your spouse consents to gift splitting.

Hire your children to work in your business. 
Children who have attained age 18 pay tax at their individual rate.  If you own your own business consider hiring your children.  You can get a tax deduction for the wages paid to your children and the children will generally pay tax on the wages at a lower tax rate.  These wages could also be used to fund Roth-IRAs for your children.

Make sure to Deduct Points on Residential Loans. 
Generally, for taxpayers who itemize, the "points" paid to obtain a home mortgage may be deductible as mortgage interest. Points paid to obtain an original home mortgage can be, depending on circumstances, fully deductible in the year paid. However, points paid solely to refinance a home mortgage usually must be deducted over the life of the loan.

Convert a Second Residence to Principal Residence. 
If you sell your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly) from your federal tax return. This exclusion is allowed each time that you sell your main home, but generally no more frequently than once every two years.

To be eligible for this exclusion, your home must have been owned by you and used as your main home for a period of at least two out of the five years prior to its sale. You also must not have excluded gain on another home sold during the two years before the current sale.

If you are retiring and have an appreciated second home, consider converting that second home into your primary residence.  If you meet all the tests and wait two years to sell the property, you may be able to reduce or eliminate the gain on the sale of your former second residence.

Plan for Taxability of Social Security Benefits.         
If you received Social Security benefits plus other income, the answer to how much, if any, is taxable can be found in the worksheet in the Form 1040 or 1040A instruction book.

For a quick computation, add one-half of your Social Security benefits to all your other income, including tax-exempt interest. If this amount is greater than the base amount for your filing status, a part of your benefits will be taxable.

The 2008 base amounts are:

• $25,000 for single, head of household, or qualifying widow/widower with a dependent child
• $25,000 for married individuals filing separately who did not live with their spouses at any time during the year
• $32,000 for married couples filing jointly
• $0 for married persons filing separately who lived together during the year.

If you find that you will have taxable social security benefits, then tax planning may be beneficial so that you can plan your income to minimize the amount of social security benefits that will be taxable.

Consider Year-End Tax Planning.  
While some tax strategies can be taken after year end, most require that they be done prior to year end.   Year-end tax planning involves assessing your individual tax situation and planning such that you minimize the amount of taxes you pay for the current year and/ or over the long term.