The financial crisis and ensuing recession not only brought bank bailouts and economic stimulus measures, it also brought legislation that may affect your individual income taxes for 2009 and your year-end tax planning.

For instance, says Allison Boisson, a tax consultant in Washington, DC, sales tax paid on the purchase of an automobile or other motor vehicle, such as a motorcycle or RV, up to $49,500 in value can be deducted from your 2009 federal income tax, even if you don’t itemize.

So if you unloaded a clunker for cash under the government program and bought a new car, there is a further tax benefit. Or if you just buy a new car before the end of the year, you can save on 2009 taxes.

Another special benefit is the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit of $8,000. Originally scheduled to expire in early November, this has now been extended to April 2010. In addition, existing homeowners who have been in their houses longer than five years can claim a tax credit of $6,500 if they buy a new house for less than $800,000.

On the negative side, warns Melissa Labant, a tax expert at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, some of the emergency legislation passed to cope with the crisis adjusted the tables that determine how much tax employers withhold.

“So some people who have never owed tax before, may find this year that they owe tax,” Labant says.

To avoid any unpleasant surprises next April, the AICPA suggests using a calculator on the IRS website that can help you determine if you will owe tax. If you find that you do, you still have time to increase your withholding for the last few pay periods in 2009, or just begin saving for that tax bill.

One specific benefit for educators has been preserved in 2009, notes Dean Patterson, a spokesman for the IRS, and that is the $250 education expense deduction. Teachers who fulfill the conditions for the benefit—K-12 teacher, principal or aide who has worked 900 hours during the year—you can deduct up to $250 of your unreimbursed expenses.

Other year-end tax planning tips are more standard, the experts say.

As always, you should try to maximize the contributions to your retirement plan, AICPA’s Labant says. For most educators, this means 403(b) plans, where the maximum tax-free contribution in 2009 is set at $16,500 (or at $22,000 with the additional catch-up allowance if you are over 50).

While 403(b) and 401(k) contributions must be made by Dec. 31, you can also make tax-free contributions for an Individual Retirement Account up to April 15, 2010. The maximum amount for IRAs this year is $5,000 (or $6,000 with over-50 catch-up allowance).

One special change for this year only is that you can waive the requirement for mandatory withdrawal from a retirement plan that begins at age 70-1/2. Even if you have already taken a withdrawal, you can roll it back into the retirement plan up to the later of two deadlines—either Nov. 30 or 60 days after making the withdrawal (up to Dec. 31).

Experts generally counsel you to pre-pay as many expenses as possible before year-end to minimize your tax bill. So, for instance, if you can, you should make your mortgage payment or real estate tax payment for January before year-end.

There is a caveat for this standard practice, cautions Labant, given the unpredictable impact of the alternative minimum tax. If your tax payments get too high, it may push you into an AMT bracket. Other triggers may be high capital gains taxes, high state income taxes or even a large number of children.

It’s virtually impossible for a layman to project whether you will end up in an AMT bracket, because the parameters change every year. “I’ve been calculating this for people for years, and I can’t do it without software,” says Labant. So you may want to have a tax consultant run a projection for you before you pre-pay any taxes.

Another standard practice recommended by planners is to realize some capital losses if you have capital gains to offset. With the market rallying this year, some taxpayers may have capital gains and should consider offsetting by selling other stock at a loss. “You can always repurchase it next year, if you want,” tax consultant Boisson says.

Capital losses can also offset up to $3,000 of ordinary income, AICPA’s Labant says.

Educators proportionally contribute more to 529 plans for their own children, Labant notes, and should keep in mind that contributions often are deductible from state income taxes in the year they are made. The expenses for which college-age children can withdraw from the funds tax-free has also been expanded to include computers and software, she adds.

Charitable donations and gifts made by Dec. 31 can also reduce the amount of tax you owe, experts note.