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tax deferral

Credits and Deductions

Let’s talk a little bit about tax credits and tax deductions. Both can be used to help reduce or avoid taxation but behave differently when it comes to doing so. Tax deductions are beneficial because help lower the amount of your income subject to taxation. Deductions may be either “above the line” or for AGI, or “below the line” or from AGI. The line in the sand in this scenario is of course, AGI (adjusted gross income). Above the line deductions are beneficial because they reduce gross income to arrive at AGI. A lower AGI may result in being able to take advantages of other benefits in the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) such as being able to contribute to a Roth IRA and qualifying for additional tax credits (discussed below). Common above the line deductions include pre-tax 401(k) contributions, student loan interest, deductible contributions to a traditional IRA, HSA contributions, […]

Tax Bill Too High? Try This Trick

Some individuals get the nice surprise of a big tax refund every tax year (if this is you, don’t be too happy – you’ve been lending Uncle Sam money interest free). Other folks get the unpleasant surprise of having to write a big check to Uncle Sam. For the latter individuals, there may be a way to lower their tax bill and save more for retirement. Let’s look at an example. Assume an individual has a tax bill of $4,000 and they want to reduce this. Naturally, there are other deductions they may qualify for, but in this case, they’ve exhausted all other options except this one: saving to their 401k. Let’s also assume this individual’s marginal tax rate is 25%. The individual can take their tax rate and divide it into their tax liability for the year – in this case $4,000 divided by 25%. This comes to $16,000. […]

5 Tips to Lower Your Tax for 2015

With 2014 over and 2015 well on its way you may be finding yourself gathering all of your 2014 tax information and getting ready to file your income taxes. Some folks will be expecting refunds while others will woefully dread writing out a check to the IRS. If you find yourself in the group of folks that will be writing a check to Uncle Sam, here are some tips to reduce your tax burden for 2015.

Your Year-End Bonus

As the end of the year approaches many employers will pay and many employees will receive year-end bonuses. While often the icing on the cake for a productive year employee should be aware of the tax consequences of their bonus. Percent vs. Aggregate Method When it comes to taxing the bonus an employer may choose the percentage method versus the aggregate method. Under the aggregate or wage holding bracket method the employer will use the withholding tables generally used for the employee normal paycheck. Then, the supplemental wages are aggregated with the employee’s normal pay and taxes are withheld accordingly.

To Roll or Not to Roll?

At some point in almost everyone’s lifetime they have gone through the process of changing jobs. Many times those jobs offered retirement plans such as 401(k)s 403(b)s, etc. Conventional wisdom would say that for most employees it may make sense to roll their employer sponsored plan into an IRA. Based on a request from a reader (thanks David!), I thought I would go over some of the issues to consider before rolling your employer sponsored plan to an IRA.

Penalties for Failure to File or Pay

When you don’t file your tax return or if you don’t pay the tax owed on time, the IRS has specific penalties that are applied to your account.  Recently the IRS issued their Tax Tip 2012-74, which lists eight facts about these penalties.  The actual text of the Tax Tip is listed below: Failure to File of Pay Penalties: Eight Facts The number of electronic filing and payment options increases every year, which helps reduce your burden and also improves the timeliness and accuracy of tax returns.  When it comes to filing your tax return, however, the law provides that the IRS can assess a penalty if you fail to file, fail to pay, or both. Here are eight important points about the two different penalties you may face if you file or pay late. If you do not file by the deadline, you might face a failure-to-file penalty.  If […]