Use the following links to learn more about the various tax breaks and strategies discussed in this workshop.
Tax brackets
Pay zero tax on part of your income
Health Savings Accounts
Flexible Spending Accounts
- IRS Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans, beginning on p. 15
Qualified Charitable Distributions
- If you’re over 73 (the new age for required minimum distributions as of 2023) and have an IRA, you can avoid tax on your required minimum distribution by using part or all of it to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution.
- Nerd’s Eye Blog by Michael Kitces, Rules And Requirements For Doing A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) From An IRA, https://www.kitces.com/blog/qualified-charitable-distribution-qcd-from-ira-to-satisfy-rmd-rules-and-requirements/
$250,000/$500,000 exclusion of gain on sale of a home
Pay no tax on growth.
529 plans (Chapter 8 – Qualified Tuition Programs) and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (Ch. 7)
- IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf
Roth accounts
- To Roth or Not: Deciding between Traditional and Roth Contributions to 403(b) and 401(k) Plans
- Basics of Roth Conversions
- Converting to a Roth IRA: Factors to Consider
Adjustments to Income aka Above-the-Line Deductions
Student loan interest deduction (Ch. 4), tuition and fees deduction
- IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf
Self-employed tax breaks. This article addresses all of the tax breaks available to self-employed persons and small businesses, including above-the-line deductions discussed in the workshop .
Follow rules for IRAs and retirement accounts
IRAs & employer plans, name beneficiaries, inherited IRAs, rollovers and transfers
- Distributions from Roth Accounts: Qualified Distributions, Taxes, and Penalties
- This resource is not currently available. I will link to a new source on this topic soon.
Take advantage of swings in income
Contribute or convert to a Roth in low income years
- Basics of Roth Conversions
- Converting to a Roth IRA: Factors to Consider
- Distributions from Roth Accounts: Qualified Distributions, Taxes, and Penalties
- Dear Young Friend: Retirement Savings Can Reduce Taxes – advantages of Roth IRAs in low income years
Understand basis for gifts & inheritances
FindLaw for Legal Professionals, Tax Basis of Inherited and Gifted Property
Married Couples; Plan for tax change for the survivor
Planning for when to sell appreciated assets and to make Roth conversions can help a surviving spouse avoid paying higher taxes on those taxable events. This article by Sandra Block, a Senior Editor with Kiplinger, nicely summarizes the issue and the strategies.
Karen Chan Financial Education & Consulting, LLC 