Retirement Blog

​As we face a “likely" climate where taxes are going to be higher, I wanted to share a couple of optimal planning ideas to avoid - what I call “Tax Torpedoes”. What is a tax torpedo? It’s when your effective rate on certain portions of your income is higher than the statutory tax rate (in essence, the legal tax rate for each bracket of total income).
While every strategy will not be applicable to you, there is at least one idea that regardless of where you are in life, should be considered to potentially reduce your taxes and increase net income.

Whether you’re just easing out of the workforce or you’ve been in retirement for a few years now, making the right financial moves is critical. If you’re working with an advisor or taking a look at your finances yourself, one central goal during retirement is protecting your wealth from unnecessary taxes. 
In many cases, there are ways to avoid owing more taxes - but usually, this requires proactive action beyond tax season. Below we’ll explain four tips you can utilize throughout the year to help minimize your tax obligations in retirement.

​By Roy Larsen, CFP®, AAMS®

​Still time for a 2018 IRA: Since we are talking about deductions, let's look at the income limits first. If you are covered by a retirement plan at work and have Modified Adjusted Gross Income of $63,000 or less as a single filer, or $101,000 or less, filing jointly, it is fully deductible. Up to $73,000 MAGI for singles and $121,000 for joint filers you can still claim a partial deduction. You must at least have enough earned income to support your contribution up to the limits of $5500 for an individual and $11,000 per couple. If you are age 50 or older, add another $1,000 to your maximum.