Q. I have an HSA, but I’m turning age 65 in November. Can I still contribute to the HSA if I enroll in Medicare Part A?

Are you a rabid fan of the athletic teams at a local college or your alma mater? Here’s a way to pocket a nifty tax break while supporting the school’s gridders, cagers or other athletes: Donate funds to a college booster club or a similar program. That way, you can deduct all or part of the payment as a charitable contribution.

Have you passed the Social Security wage base of $106,800 for 2009? Once you do, you save 6.2% in Social Security tax on every dollar of wages. Instead of pocketing the cash, you might allocate at least part of it to a 401(k) or other retirement plan.

A new Tax Court decision could produce a better tax result for many owners of LLCs and partners in LLPs. Strategy: Use a loss from an LLC or LLP to offset other highly taxed income. Previously, it was presumed that such losses usually could be used only to offset income from other “passive” activities. But the new case has opened the door to bigger tax savings.

Time is running out on a unique tax break for older taxpayers with charitable intentions. Strategy: Donate funds directly from your IRA. Instead of taking a taxable withdrawal and contributing what’s left after taxes, give the full amount to charity. There’s no tax due on the distribution.

The annual limit for dependent care expenses in flexible spending accounts (FSAs) has remained at $5,000 since the accounts were authorized back in 1986. Now momentum is building in Congress for an increase.

Q. Our company is hiring temporary workers for a big upcoming job. Do we have to treat them as employees?

If you're thinking of investing in gold, do it inside your retirement plan. As opposed to the maximum federal tax rate of 15% on most other long-term gains, the maximum tax rate on long-term gains from precious metals is 28%. By using retirement plan funds to invest in gold instead of personal funds, you can avoid a big tax hit on a sale.

If you sent a child to college this fall, you have a chance to cash in on an enhanced tax break for higher education. The new “American Opportunity tax credit,” formerly called the Hope Scholarship credit, is now available to more higher-earning taxpayers. But the improvements are only temporary.

Time is running out on a tax break for some small biz owners. The IRS notes that self-employed individuals have until Oct. 15, 2009, to carry back a net operating loss (NOL) from calendar year 2008 for up to five years instead of the usual two years.

It soon will become simpler to provide tax return information requested on financial aid applications. The IRS plans to set up a new system where you will be able to visit a secure web page, verify your identity and then retrieve the essential info needed ...

Imagine this nightmare scenario: You’ve contracted with a vendor to enter personnel data into a new computer system, including employees' Social Security numbers, addresses, names of dependents, health records and bank account routing numbers. Then the vendor notifies you that employee data was somehow stolen or lost. What do you do?

Q. My wife lost her job in a downsizing. Can she withdraw funds from her 401(k) without paying a penalty?

There’s more than just semantics involved when you’re talking about the tax treatment of “repairs” for a business building versus “improvements.” On one hand, the cost of repairs made by your business is currently deductible. On the other, the cost of improvements must be capitalized and written off over time via depreciation deductions.

Tens of thousands of homes that were appraised prior to the real estate crash are valued (for property tax purposes) at higher levels than today’s housing prices. Strategy: Appeal a property tax assessment if you have reasonable grounds. If your appeal is successful, your property-tax bill will be reduced. But you may have to move quickly. Here are five tips:

Typically, if you have a downtown office and take work home on nights and weekends, you won’t qualify for a home office deduction. Reason: The home office isn’t your principal place of business. But don’t give up! You still might be able to deduct certain expenses connected with that home office.

The IRS is willing to try the “honor system” with certain taxpayers next year. It intends to notify 30,000 taxpayers about discrepancies between the Form 1099s sent to them by issuers and the taxable income they reported on ‘09 returns.

Q. We can’t afford to give employees raises this year. Can we provide group life insurance, which would be cheaper, instead?

It’s never a good idea to scream death threats at federal agents. And if you do, chances are it won’t help to say you’re sorry. Just ask 49-year-old Albert Bront, of Valencia, Calif., who is now sitting in jail. But wait ... the story gets worse.

Q. In a recent article (Savvy move: Sidestep the new tax pitfall for home sales) you said I would not qualify for the home sale exclusion if I move to my vacation home. Will I qualify if I move to a home I don’t currently own?

In sharp contrast to optimistic forecasts that technology would rid your company of the “paper monster,” computers seem to have exacerbated the problem. Now, you’re sending, receiving and storing information electronically and printing copies—lots of copies. You may be able to live with the mess, but what will happen someday if you need to get your hands on one of those documents?

Are you a rabid fan of the athletic teams at a local college or your alma mater? There’s a way to pocket a nifty tax break while supporting the school’s gridders, cagers and other athletes. Strategy: Donate funds to a college booster club or a similar program. That way, you can deduct all or part of the payment as a charitable contribution ...

Q. My brother and I both want to reduce our taxable estates. Can we give gifts to each other’s kids without paying gift tax?

The IRS is finally poised to impose new tax rules concerning the personal use of employer-owned cell phones. Alert: Technically, employers are required to account for use of cell phones by employees. However, few do because of the logistics. New IRS proposals simplify the process, but could result in taxable income for many employees.

We usually don’t advise you to begin taking early withdrawals from your qualified retirement plans and IRAs. But you may be facing a cash crunch during this recession with no other alternative. The tax rules differ slightly for qualified plans and IRAs, but here are five ways to get your hands on the cash.