...itemize, you can deduct donations made to charities before Dec. 31. Consider donating appreciated securities, said Bob Cassel, a tax adviser with Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors in Ellicott City, Md. You don't have to pay taxes...

...file early to receive refunds. This will be a problem for them. Theyre the ones that will be upset about it, said Bob Cassel, director of tax services for Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors in Columbia, Md. A 2006 tax law required tax-exempt...