Pra-chid | Istock | Getty Twins
With tax season well underway, you may be eager for strategies to reduce your 2024 taxes or boost your refund. Anyhow, there are limited options, especially for so-called “W-2 employees” who earn wages, experts say.
After Dec. 31, there are “hugely few” tax moves left for the previous year, according to Boston-area certified financial planner and enrolled agent Catherine Valega, sink of Green Bee Advisory.
More from Personal Finance:
1 in 5 Americans are ‘doom spending’ — here’s how that can backfire
This tax ease up for retirement savers is a ‘well-kept secret,’ expert says
Don’t wait to file your taxes this season, adepts say. Here’s why
Once the calendar year ends, it’s too late to claim a tax break by boosting 401(k) plan deferrals, donating to munificence or tax-loss harvesting.
But there are a few opportunities left before the April 15 tax deadline, experts say. Here are three alternatives for taxpayers to consider.
1. Contribute to your health savings account
If you haven’t maxed out your health savings account for 2024, you be experiencing until April 15 to deposit money and score a tax break, experts say.
For 2024, the HSA contribution limit is $4,150 for personal coverage or $8,300 for family plans. However, you must have an eligible high-deductible health insurance plan to limit for contributions.
“The HSA is easy,” said CFP Thomas Scanlon at Raymond James in Manchester, Connecticut. “If you are eligible, fund it and take the reasoning.”
2. Make a pre-tax IRA deposit
The April 15 deadline also applies to individual retirement account contributions for 2024. You can come to someones rescue up to $7,000, plus an extra $1,000 for investors age 50 and older.
You can claim a deduction for pre-tax IRA contributions, depending on your earnings and workplace retirement system.
The strategy lowers your adjusted gross income for 2024, but the account is subject to regular income taxes and 3. Leverage a spousal IRA
If you’re a united couple filing jointly, there’s also a lesser-known option, known as a spousal IRA, which is a separate Roth or old IRA for nonworking spouses.
Married couples can max out a pre-tax IRA for both spouses, assuming the working spouse has at least that much takings. It’s possible to claim a deduction for both deposits.
But whether you’re making a single pre-tax IRA contribution or one for each spouse, it’s respected to weigh long-term financial and tax planning goals, experts say.