If my husband lost his job in 2020 and he received a severance that was included in his W2 can we somehow reduce the tax bill? He is 60

[SamS1]

Sorry to hear that.  Since he had earned income, depending on the amount of the severance and if he was covered by a retirement plan with his employer, you might be able to take an IRA deduction for both him and a spousal IRA for you.  You have until 4/15/21 to make a contribution for 2020.  You can do this through your bank or credit union.  After he made the 2020 contribution, he could pull it back out and since he is over 59 1/2, he would not have a penalty.  This would push at least $7000 income out of 2020 and into 2021, when your tax rate will be lower.  

If he received unemployment benefits in 2020, the recently signed American Recuse Plan Act included a provision to exclude from income the 1st $10,200 of unemployment benefits from income. You won't see this in TurboTax yet.   We are waiting for more guidance on this from Treasury. 

[Opus 17]

Sorry, income is taxed when it is received.  The only "tricks" to reduce taxable income are the same ones available to all taxpayers (IRS deductions, charity deductions, and so on).