The full list, published by the staff of Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation, includes many benefits you might not have heard of, such as the three-year depreciation rule for racehorses two years or younger, a write-off for film and TV productions made in the Mississippi Delta Region and an American Samoa development credit.
There are also more than a half-dozen widely used tax breaks on the list. Several have lapsed before but were reinstated retroactively, causing some taxpayers to scramble at the last minute.
The individual retirement account "charitable rollover" provision—cherished and used by many donors aged 70½ or older—has expired three times in the past seven years. It allows IRA owners who must take annual withdrawals to contribute up to $100,000 of their payout directly to qualified charities such as churches, schools or other groups.
There's a tax advantage here, because the donations lower adjusted gross income. That, in turn, helps reduce certain Medicare premiums or taxes on Social Security payments.
Lawmakers reversed the 2010 and 2012 rollover expirations so late that some people weren't able to make IRA donations for those years. That could happen again this year, assuming Congress gets around to enacting an extension, says Jackie Perlman, a specialist at H&R Block's Tax Institute.
She points out that "fiscal cliff" legislation enacted in January has already clarified pressing issues about tax rates and the alternative minimum tax, so "there's not as much pressure on Congress to act" on the IRA issue and other expired items.
In the meantime, the IRA charitable rollover is good until the end of this year. Here are other expiring provisions to use or lose.
State sales-tax deduction. To deduct state sales levies, taxpayers must forgo taking a state income-tax deduction. This write-off is used mostly by 57 million people residing in states without an individual income tax, such as Texas and Florida.
The instructions for Schedule A give details for estimating your state sales taxes, and there's an online calculator at IRS.gov.
Taxpayers should also save receipts and claim taxes on big-ticket items such as a car, boat or engagement ring.
"This is a hugely popular deduction," says Ms. Perlman, so there will be pressure to reinstate it.
Tuition and fees deduction. This benefit allows a deduction of up to $4,000 per year for qualified expenses for postsecondary education. This year, it isn't available to most joint filers with more than $160,000 of adjusted gross income (or half that for singles), and it can't be combined with most other tax benefits for education or claimed by a dependent.
Melissa Labant, a tax specialist at the American Institute of CPAs, says the American Opportunity Credit provides a larger education benefit for most people. But the deduction for tuition and fees could help some who don't qualify for the credit. Be sure to pay spring 2014 expenses by the end of 2013 to get the deduction.
Ms. Labant notes that this benefit might disappear for good if Congress passes the Student and Family Tax Simplification Act. The bill was introduced this fall by two House Ways & Means Committee members in an effort to rationalize the crazy quilt of education tax benefits and has already gathered some bipartisan support.
For more information, see Tax Benefits for Education at IRS.gov.
Educator expense deduction. This is another highly popular break, claimed by more 3.6 million teachers in 2010, the latest year for which data are available.
K-12 classroom teachers and others who are eligible, such as aides and counselors, can deduct up to $250 of unreimbursed expenses for supplies. "Be sure to keep your receipts," says Ms. Perlman.
For more information, see Topic 458 at IRS.gov.
Mortgage-insurance premium deduction. This write-off allows home buyers who had to get mortgage insurance—often because their down payment was too small—to deduct the premiums along with their mortgage-interest payments, as long as the insurance contract was issued after 2006. It phases out completely for most couples with adjusted gross income above $109,000.
In 2010, more than four million taxpayers deducted a total of $5.6 billion in mortgage-insurance premiums. For more details, see IRS Publication 936.
Forgiven mortgage-debt exclusion. Canceled debt is normally taxable as income. Through the end of the year, however, a special provision excludes up to $2 million of debt forgiveness on a principal home. This usually includes debt forgiven due to a foreclosure, and it might also apply to forgiveness from a restructuring.
Ms. Perlman notes that taxpayers needn't have lived in the home for two years to qualify for this break, unlike with some other tax provisions for principal homes. For more details, see IRS Publication 4681.
Nonbusiness energy property credit. This credit is for making energy-saving improvements to an existing principal residence. While it wouldn't apply to a room air conditioner, for example, it could apply to a special fan or door, insulation, roofing material or water heater.
The credit is for 10% of the cost, up to $500, with some limits.
Go to energystar.gov for a list of qualified improvements. For more details about the credit, see IRS Tax Tip 2013-48.
Section 179 deduction. This write-off allows businesses, including those reported on individual returns, to deduct certain costs up front rather than spread out over a number of years. The $500,000 deduction for 2013 drops to $25,000 in 2014. For more information, see IRS Publication 946.
The deduction applies to many kinds of new or used equipment, from computers to pizza ovens to copiers to furniture. But all of it needs to be "placed in service" by the end of either the calendar year or the fiscal year, Ms. Labant says. "It's not good enough just to buy this property."
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