EARTHQUAKE LOSSES: Marvin Weisbrod, vice president of...

EARTHQUAKE LOSSES: Marvin Weisbrod, vice president of Triple Check Income Tax Service in Burbank, expects to be busy this tax season handling quake damage claims. Why? Some quake losses can cut either your 1994 or 1993 income tax bill. Say you bought a house for $100,000 and added $100,000 in improvements. If it was destroyed in the quake, that’s a $200,000 loss. But wait. Your final tax deduction will be reduced by a variety of factors. Figuring out when and how to take the deduction is “not a very simple project,” said Weisbrod.

STOCKING STUFFERS: Remember as you approach the holiday season, giving not only can make you feel good and delight the person receiving the gift--you can do it without adding to their tax burden. Up to $10,000 a year may be transferred tax-free to an individual.

BUNCHING: ‘Tis the season to consider “bunching” mortgage and state tax payments, says Triple Check’s Weisbrod, above. That’s tax parlance for paying early a mortgage payment due on Jan. 1, or paying in December any California taxes due by Jan. 15. This allows you to boost your deductions on 1994 federal income taxes. The catch, however, is it also reduces your deductions for the following year.

STOCK BLUES: It’s been a disappointing year on Wall Street, but Weisbrod reminds stock market investors that up to $3,000 in losses are deductible each year. So savvy investors often make year-end stock sales to reduce the taxable income from their other profitable investments. If you lost more than $3,000 this year, you can claim up to $3,000 of that loss in 1995.

OPEN THOSE WALLETS: Typically more than half of all charitable donations are made in November and December to claim the deduction on that year’s taxes. But as the San Fernando Valley Corps of the Salvation Army heads into the holiday season, donations are down. Lt. Troy Trimmer hopes for a year-end pickup, but he worries that the January earthquake and lagging local economy have stretched Valley budgets too thin.