Net Operating Loss Carrybacks: There will still be a lot of Net Operating Loss (NOL) (i.e. net losses on tax returns) for 2009 which will be eligible for carryback refunds if Taxpayers owed taxes in two prior tax years.  Otherwise, the NOL will be carried forward.

IRA Distributions:  If you have a regular IRA and think you will have a net loss on your 2009 and/or 2010 tax return – you might want to consider rolling a portion of the IRA to a Roth IRA.  Typically you have to pay ordinary income tax on that roll over, but if you have a loss to offset the rollover amount, there would be no tax due.  In addition, there would be no tax due when you pull the funds from the Roth out.  If you are over 59 ½, you may want to simply pull IRA funds out (with no penalty) without the roll over to extent they would be non-taxable.  There are lots of rules regarding transferring or pulling out Regular and Roth IRA funds and there is lots of misleading information about that in the news.  Make sure you know all the ramifications before you make those moves.

Up to $100,000 can be transferred from an IRA tax-free during 2009 to qualified charities.

Social Security and Medicare:  We have more Seniors than ever and with that comes a lot of planning on how to utilize their Social Security and Medicare benefits to the maximum advantage.  Many Taxpayers make financial decisions (i.e. gifting assets to children which could be attached later for nursing home care) without checking on the potential ramifications later.  There are lots of resources that can assist you in sorting those financial options out.