Some things to consider about your Retirement Plan

Posted on by in 401(k), 403(b), IRAs, IRS, Medicare, Retirement Planning, Roth 401(k), Roth IRA, Roth IRA Conversions, Tax Law.

In 2013, the maximum 401(k) contribution is $17,500 (plus a $5,500 catch-up contribution for those 50 or older by the end of the year). If you are self-employed, you have other retirement savings options. We will review these alternatives with you when you come in for your appointment. One of my favorites for many one person self- employed businesses is the one person 401(k) plan.

In light of the new increased tax rates effective in 2013, plus the addition of the new Medicare surtax on Net Investment Income, higher income taxpayers may want to consider switching from Roth 403(b) and Roth 401(k) elective deferral contributions back to tax deductible contributions. The current savings may outweigh the benefits of tax-free growth on the Roth accounts. As mentioned earlier, the focus moving forward for higher income taxpayers is toward reducing adjusted gross income.

You can also contribute to an IRA for 2013 up through April 15, 2014. The maximum is $5,500 with a catch-up (for taxpayers 50 or older) provision of $1,000.

– Excerpt from Jim Lange’s 2013 Year-End Tax Report

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Making Work Pay Credit

Posted on by in Income Tax, IRS and tagged , .

For the past couple of months, you’ve probably noticed a little extra money in your paycheck. Those extra few dollars are thanks to the Making Work Pay Credit which was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed into law by President Obama in February.

While you’re no doubt grateful for the extra cash, you may be wondering exactly how this works. The Making Work Pay Credit is administered through a reduction in wage withholding and provides up to $400 per individual worker and $800 per working married couple. However, this credit phases out for individuals whose modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) exceeds $75,000 or $150,000 in the case of married couples filing jointly.

The amount of credit you receive will be reported on your 2009 income tax return, but it’s not taxable and you won’t have to pay it back if you received the correct amount. If, for some reason, you do not have taxes withheld this year, you can claim a lump sum credit on your 2009 return.

Since these changes will be made automatically through your withholding, most taxpayers can sit back and relax and enjoy the additional spending money. However, there are potential problems for some taxpayers and we don’t want you to be caught off-guard.

For instance, if you are claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return, you do not qualify for the Making Work Pay Credit. College students, in particular, need to be aware of this restriction. These taxpayers will have to return any credit paid to them — either through a payment to the IRS or through a reduced refund.

Married couples who both work should also be very careful about “over withholding”. This can happen if each spouse’s employer makes the adjustment, but the couple’s combined income hits the phase out amount. If this is the case, make adjustments now so that you don’t have a problem next April. Either adjust your form W-4 or set money aside.

It’s also important to note that only individuals with earned income qualify for the Making Work Pay Credit. If you do not have earned income, you are not eligible for the credit.

To be sure that you don’t have any unpleasant surprises when you’re filing your 2009 tax return, it’s a good idea to take a look at your withholdings now. The few minutes it will take to do this could save you headaches down the road. Then, if you’re still concerned, make adjustments now or talk to your tax professional.

One more suggestion from the Lange team — if you are in a position to save rather than spend the credit, you may want to consider using that money towards covering the taxes on a Roth IRA conversion. Let’s take the example of a married couple in the 15% tax bracket. They qualify for both the Make Work Pay Credit and a Roth IRA conversion. Assuming they have IRAs, they could do a $5,000 Roth IRA conversion and use the $800 tax credit to pay the $750 of federal income taxes due on the conversion (with $50 left to treat themselves to dinner).

Tax-loss Harvesting — Reduce Your Taxes

Posted on by in IRS, Tax-Loss Harvesting and tagged , , .

Possibly the single most important tool for reducing your taxes is tax-loss harvesting. Usually, tax-loss harvesting is done at the end of the year. But, as Jim Lange and radio guest Bob Keebler pointed out during the May 20th edition of The Lange Money Hour, the current down market has created an opportunity to harvest losses right now.

Bob is a partner with Virchow, Krause & Company in Wisconsin and has been busy all year executing this strategy for his clients. (By the way, congrats to Bob on being named one of the Top Most Influential CPAs in America by CPA magazine 4 out of the last 6 years).

If you have never used this strategy before, tax-loss harvesting is the art of selling securities at a loss in order to offset a capital gains tax liability. It truly is an art and Bob strongly advised against trying to execute this strategy yourself. Turn first to your trusted financial professional for their advice.

The key to this strategy is to take losses at their deepest point without getting out of the market completely. As Jim and Bob mentioned, you don’t want to miss a good run in the market. Therefore, a slow and methodical approach to tax-loss harvesting is the way to go.

What if you’ve accumulated thousands of dollars in losses, but don’t have an equal amount in capital gains? There are a couple of things to consider — a capital loss can offset only $3,000 of ordinary income as adjusted to your AGI (Adjusted Gross Income). The good news is that tax losses may be carried forward onto future tax returns.

If you have the bright idea that you can buy an asset and sell it solely to pay less taxes, you’ll have to think again. The IRS figured that taxpayers would try this, so their rule is that your loss won’t be allowed if you purchased the same asset within 30 days.

Tax-loss harvesting takes some serious analysis, but the results can be well worth it — especially in this down market. Jim and Bob’s final piece of advice was to sit down with your CPA now if you have losses. Don’t wait until the end of the year when the market may be on a rebound.

Thanks again to Bob for his great advice. His material is always incredibly helpful and informative and his latest product is designed to make the complicated topic of IRAs easy to understand. It’s called The Big IRA Book (literally big with 11 x 17 pages) and is packed with charts, graphs and tools to help you make informed decisions. For more information, call 800-955-0554.

As always, if you’d like to listen to Jim and Bob, the audio is available on this website.