Many planners and clients are navigating extreme uncertainty in tax strategy this year, with numerous tax cuts due to expire by the end of 2012.

Notably up in the air: exemptions on the estate tax, the lifetime gift tax and generation-skipping tax, all set at $5 million.

While most planners expect those taxes (and others, including taxes on capital gains and dividends) to increase next year, it’s not clear by how much. But good advisors know better than to guess, or — worse — sit back and wait. And there are a lot of well-honed methods — some better known than others — for lowering tax bills no matter what Congress does.

Financial Planning’s Ann Marsh talked with five planners about some strategies they’re using, and here’s what they had to say: