Saving for retirement not only builds up a nest egg, but it lowers taxes through the deduction from contributions to a qualified savings plans such as a 401(k) or IRA. But you can also save taxes by contributing to regular non-retirement investment accounts that can provide income for today.

Known as tax-loss harvesting, the deduction comes in the form of investment losses when stocks or bonds are sold. These losses are then used to offset profits from sales, known as capital gains. Essentially, this makes some or all of the capital gains tax free if losing investments are sold to the point of capital losses. As an example, a $6,000 gain in Apple stock and a $4,000 loss in Cisco stock results in a capital gain of $2,000, which is the only part of the $6,000 profit from the Apple stock that is taxed.

This strategy shouldn’t be used just for tax purposes, but rather is an excellent way to clean up a portfolio. Investments that no longer serve a role in the portfolio or haven’t performed as expected could be sold and reinvested. On the other end, stocks that have had excessive gains could have the profit locked in by selling and then reinvested to establish a new basis if the investor is confident the stock will continue to grow.

But if the stock is sold at a loss, the investor must wait 30 days after selling to buy the stock again. The so-called “wash rule” of stock investing applied by the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t allow an investor to take a loss if the stock is bought again within 30 days of selling. Another option would be to buy a similar stock. For example, if one international mutual fund is sold at a loss, buy a different international fund immediately. If you find your offsetting sales leave you for a loss, remember the maximum in losses that can be deducted is $3,000.

If you’re a little unsure about selling all that winning stock, an investor could also benefit this way by selling only a portion of the shares.

For investors in the 15-percent tax bracket or below, a different strategy exists: Profit all you want without worrying about losses. That’s because there is no long-term capital gains tax for the 10-percent and 15-percent tax brackets. So any stock held more than a year can be sold this year without having to pay taxes on the gain. This is a great benefit especially for those who may have lost their jobs or dropped into a lower tax bracket and need to sell some investments to pay the bills. Additionally, there is no income tax on qualified dividend income from the stocks or bonds.

For more information on capital gains and losses, read IRS Publication 550 at www.irs.gov

Dan Serra is a retirement planning specialist for Rainsberger Wealth Advisors in Colorado Springs, Colo. and can be e-mailed at serrafinance@yahoo.com