Tax Tips
Max Out Your Retirement Savings
For most people, the best way to cut your tax bill today is to maximize your retirement savings for tomorrow.
By Mary Beth Franklin, Senior Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance
December 14, 2006
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You can contribute up to $15,000 to your 401(k) or other tax-deferred retirement account, such as a 403(b) for teachers or a 457 plan for police and other local government workers by the end of the year. That's $1,000 more than last year's limit. If you're 50 or older, you are allowed to shelter up to $20,000 of your salary from federal and state taxes this year (although you'll still be nicked for FICA taxes.)
Tell your employer to adjust your remaining paychecks to boost your contribution if necessary, or if you receive a year-end bonus, ask if you can defer some or all of it to your retirement account.
If you are self-employed or have a side-line business, you can stash away even more, lowering your tax bill dollar for dollar. And if you haven't been able to come up with the cash just yet, don't worry. You won't have to fund your business retirement account until you file your taxes next spring.
If you are self-employed with no employees (other than your spouse), you can open a solo 401(k) plan and contribute up to $15,000, plus your business can kick in an additional 25% of your compensation until the total pay-in for 2006 reaches $44,000. If you're 50 or older, you can fund an extra $5,000 in catch-up contributions for a total of $49,000 this year.
If you have a sideline business, you can't double up on your 401(k) contributions. The same annual limit of $15,000 (plus $5,000 in catch-up contributions if you're 50 or older) applies whether you have one job or more. But you can contribute to a SEP IRA, stashing away up to 25% of your compensation up to a maximum $44,000 for 2006.