Uncle Sam's Slice

The

new year has been rung in, and the old year is gone, but one memento of the past 12 months remains: your 2003 tax bill. Statements from your employer and financial institutions (W2s, 1099s) will start landing in your mailbox this month to help you report last year's income to Uncle Sam. It's too late to reduce your tax burden if you owe money for the year that's past, but now is the perfect time to start thinking about ways to reduce taxes for the year that has just begun. Looking ahead, we can see that the 2004 tax season offers several new opportunities to save money. Here are some of the best:

RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLANS Your first New Year's resolution should be to ramp up your retirement savings. Given that you don't pay taxes on money in qualified plans until you take it out, you should stash your cash there instead of giving it to the IRS. As Jeff Kelson, a tax partner at BDO Seidman in New York City, points out, "Changes in retirement plans have been magnified to allow for more deductions." Contribution limits on 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans increase by $1,000 to $13,000 this year ($16,000 if you're 50 or older). For small-business owners and their employees, limits on SIMPLE plans also rise by $1,000 to $9,000 ($10,500 for those 50 or older). If you are self-employed and set up a Solo 401(k), you can sock away $41,000, or 25% of compensation up to $41,000 if you have a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan. If you're covered by a retirement plan at work, you can still get a deduction for contributions to a traditional IRA if you make less than $55,000 a year ($75,000 for a married couple filing a joint return).

COLLEGE-TUITION DEDUCTION Tuition and fees are up at most colleges and universities, but at least you can write off more of these expenses in 2004. The college-tuition deduction increases from $3,000 to $4,000 this year if your income is less than $65,000 ($130,000 if you're married filing jointly). In addition, for the first time, those who make more than $65,000 and less than $80,000 ($130,000 and $160,000 for married couples filing a joint return) will be able to claim a $2,000 college-tuition deduction.

HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS (HSAs) Products of the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act, which Congress passed in December, HSAs went into effect on Jan. 1, allowing you to save money in a tax-free account to pay for health-care costs. Individuals with "self-only" policies can make a pretax annual contribution of $2,600, and families can contribute up to $5,150 to an HSA account.

Epperson is CNBC's personal-finance correspondent