If you managed to claim every possible tax break that you qualified for when you filed your 2009 return, pat yourself on the back. But don't stop there. Those tax-filing maneuvers are certainly valuable, but you may be able to rack up even bigger savings through thoughtful tax planning all year around.

If you got a big tax refund this year, it meant that you're having too much tax taken out of your paycheck every payday. For 2009 taxes, the average refund was nearly $2,900, up about $200 from the year before. Filing a new W-4 form with your employer (get one from your payroll office) will ensure that you get more of your money when you earn it. If you're just average, you'd get about $240 a month extra.

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Next: Pay child-care bills with pretax dollars

After taxes, it can easily take $7,500 or more of salary to pay $5,000 worth of child-care expenses. But, if you use a child-care reimbursement account at work to pay those bills, you get to use pretax dollars. That can save you one-third or more of the cost, because you avoid both income and Social Security taxes. If your employer offers such a plan, sign up for it.

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Next: Go for a health tax break

Take advantage if your employer offers a medical reimbursement account -- sometimes called a flex plan. These plans let you divert part of your salary to an account that you can then tap to pay medical bills. The advantage? You avoid both income and Social Security taxes on the money, and that can save you 20% to 35% or more compared with spending after-tax money.

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Next: Fund an IRA

If you don't have a retirement plan at work, or you want to augment your savings, you can stash money in an individual retirement account. You can contribute up to $5,000 in 2010 ($6,000 if you are 50 or older by the end of the year). Depending on your income and whether you participate in a retirement savings plan at work, you may be able to deduct some or all of your IRA contribution. Or, you can choose to forgo the upfront tax break and contribute to a Roth IRA that will allow you to take tax-free withdrawals in retirement.

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Next: Tally job-hunting expenses

If you count yourself among the millions of Americans who are unemployed, make sure you keep track of your job-hunting costs. As long as you're looking for a new position in the same line of work (your first job doesn't qualify), you can deduct the costs of your job hunt, including travel expenses such as food, lodging and transportation if your search takes you away from home overnight. Such costs are miscellaneous expenses, deductible to the extent that the total of all such costs exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income.

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Next: Think green

A tax credit is available for homeowners who install alternative energy equipment. It equals 30% of what a homeowner spends on qualifying equipment such as solar electric systems, solar water heaters, geothermal heat pumps and wind turbines, including labor costs. There is no cap on this tax credit.

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Next: Save for college the tax-smart way

Stashing money in a custodial account can save on taxes, but it can get you tied up with expensive "kiddie tax" rules. Such an account also gives full control of the cash to your child when he or she turns 18 or 21. Using a state-sponsored 529 college savings plan can make earnings completely tax-free, while letting you keep control of the money. If one child decides not to go to college, you can switch the account to another child or take it back.

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Next: Keep track of your home-purchase paperwork 

Be a pack rat with paperwork. Some costs associated with buying a new home affect your "tax basis," the amount from which you'll figure your profit when you sell. Others can be deducted in the year of the purchase, including any points you pay (or the seller pays for you) to get a mortgage, and any property taxes paid by the seller in advance for time you actually own the home.

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Next: Second homes can offer a vacation from taxes

If you're trying to figure out if you can afford a second home, remember that you'll get some help from the IRS. Mortgage interest on a loan to buy a second home is deductible just as it is for the mortgage on your principal residence. Interest on up to $1.1 million of first- and second-home debt can be deducted. Property taxes can be written off, too. Things get more complicated -- and perhaps more lucrative -- if you rent out the place part of the year to help cover the bills.

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Next: Convert a vacation home to your principal residence

Until 2009, there was a sweet tax break for folks who sold their homes, claimed tax-free profit and then moved into a vacation property. After they lived in that home for two years, they could sell and claim tax-free profit again . . . including appreciation from the days the place was a vacation home. There can still be some real tax benefits to this strategy, but the value will fall over the years. Starting in 2009, a portion of any profit on the sale of a vacation-home-turned-principal-residence does not qualify as tax-free home-sale profit. The taxable portion is now based on the ratio of the time after 2008 the property was used as a vacation home to the total period of ownership. So if you have owned a vacation home for 18 years and make it your main residence in 2011 for two years before selling it, only 10% of the gain would be taxed. The rest qualifies for the exclusion of up to $500,000. Homes owned for a short time prior to a post-2008 conversion fare the worst tax-wise.

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Next: Mine your portfolio for tax savings

As an investor, you have significant control over your tax liability. As you near the end of the year, tote up gains and losses on sales to date and review your portfolio for paper gains and losses. If you have a net loss so far, you have an opportunity to take some profit tax-free. Alternatively, a net profit on previous sales can be offset by realizing losses on sales before the end of the year. (This strategy applies only to assets held in taxable accounts, not tax-deferred retirement accounts such as IRAs or 401k plans).

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Next: Death and taxes

Someone who is terminally ill may want to sell investments that show a paper loss. Otherwise, the tax basis of the property -- the value from which the heir will figure gain or loss when he or she sells -- will be "stepped-down" to date-of-death value, preventing anyone from claiming the loss. If you want to keep property, such as a vacation home, in the family, consider selling to a family member. You get no loss deduction, but it could save the buyer taxes later on.

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Next: Time Social Security benefits claims

If you stop working, you can claim benefits as early as age 62. But note that each year you delay -- until age 70 -- promises higher benefits for the rest of your life. And delaying benefits means postponing the time you'll owe tax on them.

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Next: Dodge a 50% tax penalty

Taxpayers older than 70½ are required to take minimum withdrawals from their IRAs each year. Failing to do so subjects them to one of the toughest penalties in the tax law: The IRS claims 50% of the amount that should have come out of the account. Your IRA sponsor can help pinpoint the amount of the required payout.

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Next: Tell your broker which shares to sell

Telling your broker which shares to sell gives you more control over the tax consequences when you sell stock. If you fail to specifically identify the shares to be sold, the tax law's FIFO (first-in-first-out) rule comes into play and the shares you've owned the longest (and perhaps the ones with the biggest gain) are considered to be sold. With mutual funds, an "average basis" can be used when determining gain or loss; that alternative isn't available for stocks.

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Next: Double your family's estate-tax break

If yours is among the minority of families that has to worry about the federal estate tax, realize that planning ahead can save your heirs a fortune. A simple plan employing what's called a bypass trust, for example, can double from $3.5 million to $7 million the amount you can pass tax-free to the next generation. The estate tax and stepped-up rules on inherited property expired at the end of 2009. Although congressional action is not guaranteed this year, Kiplinger's expects lawmakers to OK a minimum exemption of $3.5 million with a top rate of no more than 45%, either in a lame-duck session this year or in 2011.

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Next: Give it away

Money you give away during your lifetime won't be in your estate to be taxed at your death. That's one reason there's also a federal gift tax. However, the law allows you to give up to $13,000 apiece to any number of people in 2010 without worrying about the gift tax. If your spouse agrees not to give anything to the same person, you can give $26,000 a year to each individual. If you have four married kids, for example, and you give $26,000 to all eight (your kids and their spouses), you can shift $208,000 out of your estate gift-tax free each year.

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Next: Watch startup costs

Generally, the costs of starting up a new business must be amortized, that is, deducted over years in the future. But you can deduct up to $5,000 of startup costs in the year you incur them, when the tax savings could prove particularly helpful.

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Next: Don't be afraid of home-office rules

If you use part of your home regularly and exclusively for your business, you can qualify to deduct as home-office expenses some costs that are otherwise considered personal expenses, including part of your utility bills, insurance premiums and home maintenance costs. Some home-business operators steer away from these breaks for fear of an audit. But if you deserve them, claim them.

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Next: Pay estimated taxes . . . or not

If you receive significant income not subject to withholding -- from self-employment or investments, for example -- you probably need to make quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid an IRS penalty. But if withholding will equal 100% of your 2009 income tax bill (or 110% if your income was over $150,000), you don't need to make estimated payments . . . no matter how much extra income you make in 2010.

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