The last thing you may want to do during the summer is start thinking about your 2022 tax return! The best way to lower your tax bill for next year, however, is to start looking for tax cutting strategies as soon as possible.
Keeping your taxes as low as possible requires paying attention to your financial situation throughout the year. Here are some tips for getting a head start on tax planning for your 2022 return:
Check your paycheck withholdings
Now is a good time to check your tax withholdings to make sure you haven’t been paying too much or too little. The IRS has an online tool that will help you calculate how much your current withholdings match what your final tax bill will be. Visit https://apps.irs.gov/app/tax-withholding-estimator.
Action step: To change how much is withheld from your paycheck in taxes, fill out a new IRS Form W-4 and give it to your employer. Note: MN and some other states also have their own W-4 forms that may need to be adjusted.
Defer earnings
You could potentially cut your tax liability by deferring your 2022 income to a future year via contributions to a retirement account. For 2022, the 401(k) contribution limit is $20,500 ($27,000 if 50 or older); $6,000 for both a traditional and Roth IRA ($7,000 if 50 and older); or $14,000 for a SIMPLE IRA ($17,000 if 50 and older).
Action step: Consider an automatic transfer from either your paycheck or checking account to your retirement account so you won’t have to think about manually making a transfer each month.
Plan withdrawals from retirement accounts to be tax efficient
Your retirement accounts could span multiple account types, such as traditional retirement accounts, Roth accounts, and taxable accounts like brokerage or savings accounts. Because of this you should plan for your withdrawals to be as tax efficient as possible.
Action step: One way to structure withdrawals is to pull from taxable accounts first, and leave Roth account withdrawals for last. Another approach would be to structure proportional withdrawals from all retirement accounts that would lead to a more predictable tax bill each year.
Let us exceed your expectations. Visit with your tax expert at (888) 388-1040 to discuss your situation.
