Income Tax, to plan or not to plan. Or more precisely, plan now before year end or only worry about it when you file tax next year ... How much is the difference actually ? Says my annual income in 2011 will be $40,000. If I plan well now ie. buy a $1,600 life insurance pay $5,000 for my parent medication buy $1,00 reading materials ... I would most probably end up paying $12 tax. That means I can most probably claim back quite a sum of money depends on how much my monthly tax deduction is. On the other hand, if I do none of the above to optimize my tax, I will most probably be paying $937 for my tax. That is a difference of $925 !! Will you be interested to earn or save $925 just by reading article like this to get yourself well aware of how you should spend some of your money which is beneficial to you and your family anyway ? If you annual income is $60,000 the tax difference btw plan vs not is $1,991 If you annual income is $80,000 the tax difference btw plan vs not is $3,60...