Now is the time to start planning your tax strategy for 2010. It’s hard to get out from under debt in a slow economy when your paycheck is being sucked dry by your Uncle Sam, who needs the cash to fund the various stimulus program. The good news is that tax rate brackets and other tax breaks appear to be largely unchanged for next year. This is primarily because of tax rates and programs being tied to inflation, which is practically nonexistent right now.

So here is your 2010 tax table.

Other key provisions of the 2010 tax code include:

• The value of each personal and dependency exemption available to most taxpayers is $3,650, unchanged from 2009.
• The new standard deduction for heads of household is $8,400, up from $8,350 in 2009. For other taxpayers, the standard deduction remains unchanged at $11,400 for married couples filing a joint return and $5,700 for singles and married individuals filing separately. Nearly two out of three taxpayers take the standard deduction rather than itemizing deductions, such as mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and state and local taxes.
• Various tax bracket thresholds will see minor adjustments. For example, for a married couple filing a joint return the taxable income threshold separating the 15 percent bracket from the 25 percent bracket is $68,000, up from $67,900 in 2009.
• The annual gift tax exclusion remains unchanged at $13,000.

From IRS.gov.

So put down the eggnog and head over the the IRS website and start planning for the upcoming year. Remember to contribute the max to your 401(k), take advantage of Health Savings Accounts and make sure that you are keeping records, receipts and notes on all the tax tips you get throughout the year from Debtbeat.