As we slide toward the end of the year, be aware that we actually can do year-end tax planning. Unlike the last few years, we aren’t caught between tax provisions that are set to expire and a Congress that meets through the holiday season trying to cut a deal. It looks like we have some certainty about what the tax law will be for at least 2013 and 2014.

Keep in mind that there are several new or renewed provisions that increase taxes. The Pease limitation on itemized deductions and the phaseout of personal and dependent exemptions are back in the law. High income taxpayers (married couples with adjusted gross income above $300,000 and singles above $250,000) are subject to these.

Also, the top tax rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends was raised to 20%. But keep a couple of other points in mind. Only those in the top income tax bracket pay the 20% rate. Most others pay a 15% top rate. Even better, remember that the 0% tax rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends was made permanent. Those below the top of the 15% pay 0% on capital gains and dividends. The 0% rate applies to married couples filing jointly with taxable incomes below $72,500 and singles below $36,250.

The newest and more complicated tax is the 3.8% tax on net investment income that was part of Obamacare. Many people still are unaware of this and are likely to trigger the tax inadvertently and end up owing unexpected bills and penalties at tax time.

The 3.8% investment income tax is separate from all other taxes. It kicks in when modified adjusted gross income is above $250,000 for married couples filing jointly or $200,000 for single taxpayers. Modified AGI is regular AGI plus any exempt foreign earned income.

The tax is imposed on the smaller of net investment income or modified AGI that is above those levels. Suppose Max and Rosie Profits, a married couple have adjusted gross income of $225,000, all of it from investment income. They wouldn’t be affected by the investment income tax. But if they had $260,000 of adjusted gross income and $10,000 of it is investment income, they would owe the 3.8% tax on $10,000. If their investment income were less than $10,000, they would owe the 3.8% tax only on amount of net investment income. This tax is in addition to all other income taxes.

Here are the types of income to which the tax applies. Of course, taxable interest, dividends, and both long-term and short-term capital gains are taxed. Also included are royalties and most rental income. Some income from trading commodities is taxed, so if you have that type of income meet with a tax advisor who’s gone through the regulations.

A surprising inclusion in the tax is taxable income from insurance annuities. If you’ve been socking money away in deferred annuities over the years, when you take distributions they’ll face not only ordinary income taxes but also the 3.8% tax if your AGI is high enough.

Income from real estate investment trusts and master limited partnerships also are subject to the tax. But remember only income that is included in gross income is affected by the 3.8% tax. Most distributions from MLPs aren’t taxed. On average, MLP distributions are 15% taxable income and 85% nontaxable returns of capital. But the return of capital portion reduces your basis in the MLP shares, so it increases the capital gain when you eventually sell the shares. On the other hand, you can hold the MLP shares for life. Whoever inherits the shares will be able to increase the basis to current fair market value and avoid taxes on their sale.

Gains from the sale of a principal residence are subject to the tax only when they exceed the tax-free amount of $250,000 for a single taxpayer and $500,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly. But gains from sales of second homes and rental properties are subject to the tax.

A number of types of income aren’t subject to the tax. Interest income from tax-exempt bonds avoids the tax, though capital gains from sales of the bonds do not. Social Security benefits and life insurance benefits aren’t affected.

Pension benefits, including distributions from traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs, are exempt from the tax.

But keep in mind the interplay of tax provisions. Distributions from traditional IRAs are included in AGI. So, large IRA distributions could increase AGI and trigger the 3.8% tax on your investment income, though the distributions themselves aren’t subject to the tax. This is especially likely as you get older and required minimum distributions increase. But Roth IRA distributions aren’t included in gross income. Since they aren’t taxable, they don’t trigger the investment income tax. It’s another factor to consider when deciding whether or not to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.

Donations of appreciated assets to charity also avoid the tax. That’s another reason to consider making charitable donations in appreciated property held in taxable accounts instead of cash.

Real estate income can be exempt when earned by a real estate professional. To be a professional you must spend a minimum of 750 hours annually managing real estate. That means being involved in the nuts and bolts of managing properties. Those hours also must be more than half of your working hours for the year.

Income and gains earned through pass-through entities such as S corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies might be exempt. The activity has to qualify as a business for the individual owner. You must pass one of the active involvement tests under the passive activity regulations. The easiest test to pass is to have the activity be your prime source of income, taking 500 hours or more of your time. When none of the tests is passed, the income is passive and subject to the 3.8% tax.

Owners of multiple pass-through entities have a one-time option to either treat each interest separately or group them as one activity. You have to decide if grouping them offers the most tax advantages.

Several strategies to reduce the new tax should be reviewed, and you need to reconsider how old strategies could be affected.

Reduce AGI. This is key to avoiding a number of new taxes, including this one. This tax increases the importance of holding assets in the right accounts, taking capital losses, and planning asset sales and IRA distributions. The tax also might make an IRA conversion more attractive.

Carefully review major events. You might think that your income isn’t near $250,000, so the tax doesn’t affect you. But one-time events could trigger the tax. Suppose you take a large capital gain. That could increase your AGI enough to trigger the tax. Overlooking the potential for the 3.8% tax could result in several thousand dollars of additional taxes one year.

Know the interplay of tax code sections. We already discussed several examples of this. Here another example.

When you sell a capital asset at a loss, for the regular income tax the loss is deducted against gains for the year. Any excess loss offsets up to $3,000 of other income, and any additional excess is carried forward to future years. But for the 3.8% tax, tax losses offset only capital gains for the year. Excess losses aren’t deducted against other investment income to reduce the 3.8% tax.

Track investment expenses. The tax is on net investment income. From your gross investment income you are allowed to deduct certain expenses. The deductible expenses include rental and royalty expenses, margin interest to the extent of interest income and short-term gains, investment advice, broker commissions and fees, and state income taxes attributable to investment income.

Know what’s exempt. You might be able to restructure things if you’re involved in real estate or a small business so that income avoids the 3.8% tax. Some people will shift from taxable bonds to tax-exempt bonds. Others will carefully plan distributions from annuities.

Review trust strategies. As with other special taxes, the 3.8% investment income tax kicks in when the trust’s undistributed investment income exceeds $11,950. Trustees might need to reconsider investment or distribution strategies.