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Tax situation - married with no kids and $100k salary

Posted on 2/7/17 at 7:24 am
Posted by hoppinnissan
Louisiana
Member since Sep 2011
1003 posts
Posted on 2/7/17 at 7:24 am
Seems to be some pretty smart fellas around here. That being said, I know I'm "OT poor" etc.

I'm married and we make a shade over $100k a year together. Problem deduction wise is we have no kids and a small mortgage. Only pay about $7,500 in interest and have no medical bills etc to claim.

We both contribute to work retirement accounts and one Roth IRA. We both also take about $50 extra withholdings from every check to help out with the taxes. Looks like I may owe a few hundred this year. I try to fall even or a small refund.

Thinking I may need to up my pre-tax contribution for work retirement which is a SIMPLE IRA just to help out instead of the ROTH.

Any thoughts for other deductions etc?
Posted by WhoGeaux
Member since Apr 2011
4442 posts
Posted on 2/7/17 at 7:34 am to
Reducing your taxable income but increasing the contribution to your Simple IRA sounds like the way to go. This should not be in lieu of a Roth however. Do both.
Posted by lynxcat
Member since Jan 2008
24149 posts
Posted on 2/7/17 at 7:35 am to
Do you have a high deductible health plan? Creating a HSA abd those funds are deposited pre-tax.

Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
89538 posts
Posted on 2/7/17 at 8:28 am to
quote:

Problem deduction wise is we have no kids and a small mortgage.


That's a better overall problem to have. Kids are far more expensive than any deduction offsets. Now - I will say that having children provides innumerable non-pecuniary returns, but that's a different discussion.

I must assume you all are from mid-20s to early 30s - so I think that going traditional instead of Roth is short sighted. Getting your Roth balance as high as you can will pay rewards way down the line.

As far as your withholding - I like to owe a little - up to $1000, because that's a straight win for me. You shouldn't be concerned about tax liability of under $1,000 - that's $80 a month. If it gets over that, yeah, you're going to want to adjust your withholding.

But, seeking deductions - outside of correctly deducting what you already spend, is generally going to be a losing proposition - you're going to spend money you didn't budget/intend to get some of it back?

To quote the President, "Not smart."
Posted by lynxcat
Member since Jan 2008
24149 posts
Posted on 2/7/17 at 9:10 am to
Your effective tax rate has to be around the 15-17% mark after all of you deductions. Why are you stressed about taxes?

Married filing jointly with 100k income...put money in a 401k and a HSA, claim your standard deduction, and move on. Be thankful you have simple taxes and your financial picture is not more complicated.
Posted by Hawkeye95
Member since Dec 2013
20293 posts
Posted on 2/7/17 at 10:18 am to
quote:

We both contribute to work retirement accounts and one Roth IRA. We both also take about $50 extra withholdings from every check to help out with the taxes. Looks like I may owe a few hundred this year. I try to fall even or a small refund.


yeah, that is a sucky feeling. Upping your deduction could work, although Roth is a killer deal. You are already not too far away from the income limit ($169k?) so take advantage of it while you can.

Can you claim home office deduction? That can add pretty quick. I am pretty aggressive with deducting miles and business expenses, although those are somewhat small potatoes.
Posted by hoppinnissan
Louisiana
Member since Sep 2011
1003 posts
Posted on 2/7/17 at 10:24 am to
We are early 30's. Just wanting to make sure I am looking at the whole picture correctly. Our pay will keep going up so I am just trying to plan accordingly.

I currently put the max my employer matches in my Traditional IRA which doesn't perform quite as well as my ROTH. Not maxing out the ROTH yearly yet.
My wife did open a 401k a few years back but we don't contribute monthly to it. I may need to start.

Both of our medical insurance premiums are very reasonable so I don't see the need for an HSA. Maybe I am wrong on that?
Posted by EA6B
TX
Member since Dec 2012
14754 posts
Posted on 2/7/17 at 11:30 am to
quote:

But, seeking deductions - outside of correctly deducting what you already spend, is generally going to be a losing proposition - you're going to spend money you didn't budget/intend to get some of it back?


Tax savings from a home mortgage should be considered just a residual benefit of home ownership and not the tax shelter too many consider it to be. Assuming a 25% federal tax bracket, they are giving the mortgage company a dollar to avoid paying 25 cents in income tax.
Posted by Hand
far side of the moon
Member since Dec 2007
2064 posts
Posted on 2/7/17 at 11:48 am to
Well, you can defer up to $53,750 of income ($6,750 HSA + $5,500 IRA + $5,500 IRA + $18,000 401k + $18,000 401k). It depends on your overall goals, tolerances, lifestyle, and if you believe in tax diversification (which I do).

The HSA is a savings vehicle to cover future costs instead of spending the same amount on sunk premiums. It can only be opened if you have a qualifying high deductible health care plan. It's tax advantaged on the front-end and on the back-end if used for qualifying medical expenses. If you choose not to use it for medical expenses, then it, in essence, becomes a way to boost IRA contributions by ~60.00%.
Posted by baldona
Florida
Member since Feb 2016
20456 posts
Posted on 2/7/17 at 12:43 pm to
quote:

My wife did open a 401k a few years back but we don't contribute monthly to it. I may need to start.

Both of our medical insurance premiums are very reasonable so I don't see the need for an HSA. Maybe I am wrong on that?


If you aren't maxing out your 401ks, that is the answer you are looking for. Do that first.

As said, the HSA you can contribute $6750 for a family. At age like 60 you can transfer it to a retirement account, I think an IRA. So its a way to prepay for medical expenses pre tax, invest for your future medical expenses, and invest pre-tax money.
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