Here’s how to do it:

WHAT YOU’LL GET First, estimate your winnings. The personal finance magazine Kiplinger’s put a calculator up on its Web site this week that can help. (I’ve linked to it from the online version of this column.)

Keep a couple of things in mind, though. First, the calculator covers only the 2011 tax cut; it doesn’t account for the $400 maximum per person you may lose if you qualified in 2010 for all or part of the Making Work Pay tax credit, which is about to expire. Also, it may take a few more weeks before your employer or the company that handles its payroll has updated its software to reflect the change. Keep a close eye on your check and how it changes, and remember to take any 2011 salary increase into account.

PAYING DOWN DEBT If you’re paying interest of 15 or 20 percent or more on a credit card or other loan balance, it’s probably best to take your gift from the government and apply it to that debt. Hopefully, you’re already using some sort of automated payment system to make sure you pay your bills on time, so as to avoid late fees and interest charges.

Now that you have a bit more money, you can adjust your monthly payment higher by the additional amount you are getting from the government. This trick works with mortgage and car payments as well. Just make sure the lender is applying any extra money to paying down the principal.

GIVING MORE AWAY This three or four-figure 2011 bonus isn’t available to people who have no wages. And many of those who are unemployed are placing increased demand on nonprofit organizations that provide housing, food and other services.

Many of these organizations are happy to set up a recurring donation, where they will charge your debit or credit card for whatever portion of your 2011 tax break you want to give them each month. Or, you could push part or all of the additional money to them via a personal check every so often by scheduling a regular payment through the online bill-paying system at your bank.