Can you alleviate a year end tax bill with a 401k?

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Can you alleviate a year end tax bill with a 401k?

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absolutely.

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In theory if I take the amount we owe /26 and throw that into the 401k would that help lower the tax bill next year dollar for dollar?

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That's not the math you should be doing.
Let's say literally everything else stays the same (income, deductions and all that stuff). By doing the above you'd be paying the same tax as last year minus your marginal tax rate times that amount. Meaning, you'd still owe at the end of the year.

thanks guys

This will only work with a traditional 401K right? Not a Roth.

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This will only work with a traditional 401K right? Not a Roth.

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Correct. But contribs to traditional IRA may be deductible.

You can do a traditional IRA even if you have a 401(k), but your ability to get a tax deduction depends on your income. Here is the IRS chart for 2016. LINK