• Increase charitable contributions to your church or other charity.
• If you will have capital gains to report this year, consider selling assets at a loss to offset those gains.  Of course, the reverse also holds true, especially if you have losses from a prior year.
• For 2004 and 2005, you have the option of either deducting sales tax paid or state income tax.  The IRS will provide sales tax tables.  You can add any tax paid on cars and boats to the table amounts.  Alternatively, you can deduct the actual state and local sales tax paid if you can substantiate the amount.
• Maximize your retirement contributions.
• Make your January 1, 2005 mortgage payment on December 31, 2004.  This will give you an additional month's interest to deduct.  Add the extra interest to your 1098 from the bank, since they won't receive the payment until 2005, and therefore won't give you credit in 2004.  Keep track of this so that you don't count it again in 2005.
• If you normally make real estate or personal property tax payments in January, move the payment up to December 31.
• Pay fourth quarter state estimated taxes by December 31, even if you don't make your federal payment until January 15.
• If your 2004 medical expenses are not quite up to the 7.5 percent "floor" to qualify for an itemized deduction, consider prepaying medical expenses or accelerate monthly payments you make, such as to your orthodontist.  If you are not going to exceed the floor, defer payments to 2005.  You may exceed your floor then. 

Be sure to have payments postmarked by December 31.  Happy tax reporting!