It could pay to bone up on taxation laws at the end of the year - especially if you're hoping for IRS tax refunds. The summer of 2006 saw a number of changes that could affect the type and amount of deductions you can take for charitable donations and other itemizations.

For example, donated household items such as clothing must now be in good or excellent condition in order to be eligible. The good news is that, with the provision of an appraisal, a taxpayer can now claim more than $500 on a single item such as furniture, appliances and electronics. Monetary donations require some sort of bank record - check copy, bank statement or credit card statements for example - which identifies the charitable organization and the donation date. For contributions made by payroll deduction, an employer should furnish a pledge card and Form W-2 with your filing income. Return tax paperwork along with these forms to the IRS to claim your deduction. This will bring you one step closer to that IRS tax refund.

Save a couple hundred dollars or more by doing early what you would have done anyway. If your mortgage payment comes at the beginning or middle of the month, bump it up for savings on your taxes. Instead of making January's mortgage payment on the 1st of the month as usual, pay a few days early in December. A person making $1,000 monthly mortgage payment at 6 percent interest can save up to $250 on the coming filing. Income tax return assistance such as this is never more than a mouse-click away when you have software and support from 1040return.com in your arsenal. In addition to inexpensive, easy-to-use software, we offer subscribers our free newsletter, chock full of advice on filing, income return, tax law changes and other issues important to taxpayers, presented in a format that is compelling and easy for most people to digest.

"The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his (filing) income tax return. It's the zero adjust on his bathroom scale." Arthur C. Clarke, author