Help! I could use some suggestions/advice on reasonable tax shelters. I was just thinking about our tax burden and it's out of hand, IMO... My spouse and I earn close to 160k/yr combined. We've refied our mortgage from 7.25 to 5.8 and adjusted witholding to minimize tax returns. We also both contribute the max to employer 401Ks; we don't qualify for meaningful IRA contributions. No house apes-aka children- yet or expected. I've thought of purchasing a rental property, but found that income must be below 100k to take advantage of the writeoffs associated with that. The only alternative I can think of is to start a small business doing something I enjoy and deduct whatever possible.
O mighty tax gurus, how can we possibly shelter more of our income?? All responses welcome and appreciated!!!

Stop worrying about sheltering your income and focus instead on maximizing your income. Since income is never taxed at 100%, the more you make, the more you keep. If you really want to reduce your taxes, the best way I know is to earn less money. Of course, this usually means you have less to use as you wish.

Starting a business will not shelter any of your income unless you can demonstrate a legitimate profit motive. Absent that, your small business will be considered a hobby and your deductible expenses will be limited to your income from the activity.

Ira