Unfortunately, taxing patience and pockets since 1913, Uncle Sam soon will be collecting membership dues in Club America once again and tax savings from home transactions can make a difference on your bottom line.

Year-end tax strategies generally call for deferring income to a less lucrative year and piling up deductions to reduce the current year's taxable income, but how does that fit in with buying or selling a home?

"Never buy a home just because of the tax write-offs. Remember that the current price of real estate already reflects the fact that buyers and sellers know about write-offs," said Eric Tyson a financial counselor and co-author of "Taxes for Dummies, 2000 edition" (IDG Books, $14.99).

But if you are in the market to buy or sell right now, timing your purchase or sale could make a difference on your tax return.

Buyers

New buyers should close escrow in the year they stand to benefit most from tax deductions that come with the purchase.

"If you have some flexibility about when to close, and if you expect to be in a lower bracket next year (2000), it would probably be better to close your home purchase in the current year (1999)," Tyson said.

That's because, if you buy a home late this year, you won't have a full year of mortgage interest to deduct, but you will be able to deduct any points, provided they were paid to reduce the interest rate on your loan. You can also deduct any property tax included in escrow.

"The person is in a higher tax bracket this year (1999) so the value of a deduction is greater to them this year," Tyson said.

However, you must be sure you have sufficient deductions to itemize.

You need $7,200 worth of deductions to itemize if you are married filing a joint return, $6,350 if you file as head-of-household, $4,300 for singles, and $3,600 if you are married filing separately.

"If you close escrow late in the year, you may not have enough items to itemize. The points and little bit of mortgage interest and property tax may not be high enough," said Marie Sternberger, an enrolled agent in Sunnyvale.

One way to be sure you'll have enough deductions to itemize on your 1999 return is to make extra mortgage payments and to pay the fiscal year's property tax bill (normally not due until early next year) before the end of this year.

"Of course, then you cannot take the same deduction again in 2000," said George Devine, a San Francisco broker and author of "For Sale By Owner in California" (Nolo.com, $24.95).

Sellers

Sellers in high-cost areas likewise need to sell in the year a capital gains hit will have less of an economic impact.

Capital gains on the sale of a home are not taxed by the federal government, provided they don't exceed $500,000 for married couples filing joint returns or $250,000 for singles and married people filing separately. A gain above those limits are taxed at a maximum 20 percent. State tax rules vary on this subject. Check with your state tax department for details.

"If you think your income is going to be a lot higher this year (1999), you might want to put off selling until next year," she said.

"Of course in most parts of the country, that's not going to matter because you probably aren't going to have a capital gain that exceeds the limit," she added.

When you are making your capital gains calculations, don't forget to deduct your sales expenses, including the broker's commission, title insurance, any of the legal fees, administrative costs, inspection fees and other costs.

"Any gain you realize, which is not exempt from taxation under the currently liberal laws, is realized in the year the escrow closes. This may be a matter of delicate timing for some folks whose income fluctuates," said Devine.

Finally, if your mortgage was a refinanced mortgage, you've been deducting the points over the life of the loan. Once you sell you home or refinance the mortgage again, the full remaining portion of points is deductible in the year you sell or refinance, Tyson said.