April is not the time to think about your taxes. April is just the deadline for filing your personal tax returns for the prior year. By next April, just about all of your options to reduce your 2015 taxes will have run out. Now is the time! It’s October. You still have many options for reducing your 2015 tax bill and you have more than two full months to make some moves. What moves? Here are a few things to consider.

Contribute to a 529 plan.

Not sure if you heard, but college is kind of…well…expensive, isn’t it? Here’s a good way to help out with the cost. You can contribute money to your state’s 529 plan and any capital or interest gains are non-taxable as long as you use the money for higher education for yourself or your family. It’s a great way to grow your money tax free for college and it’s not even taxed when you withdraw the money, as long as the funds are used for higher education expenses (which include room and board too). More info on 529 plans can be found here.

Employ your kids.

If you’re a business owner, put your kids to work. Any earnings under $6,300 won’t be taxable. And it’s likely they won’t have to file a tax return either. And you don’t payroll taxes. And…best part…you get a deduction. Of course, make sure the work is legitimate. Your kids could get some good experience out of this. And the money will be all theirs, so let’s hope they do their best to spend it wisely. Here are some good rules to follow.

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