Will Your Tax Return be Audited

Few things are more unnerving than having your tax return selected for an IRS audit. The IRS uses that "audit anxiety" to help keep taxpayers honest on their tax returns.

DIF Scores Count

The IRS evaluates tax returns based on their "DIF" scores, a set of IRS formulas known as the "Discriminate Function System." About three-quarters of all returns audited are selected by the DIF computer, which compares deductions, credits, and exemptions with the norms for taxpayers in each income bracket.

While the IRS keeps these formulas very secret, you can count on having a higher audit probability if you fall into certain categories or report certain things on your tax return.

What Interests the IRS?

Some higher risk areas are -

• Tax protests. Both the IRS and tax courts are getting fed up with what they consider frivolous tax protests. If you file a return stating that you owe no tax because the dollar is worthless or make some other such protest, you'll probably be audited.
• High Income. Because auditing higher-income taxpayers is likely to produce more additional tax revenue than auditing lower-income taxpayers, the IRS targets this category.
• Certain occupations. Taxpayers whose occupations produce cash income, such as taxi drivers and waiters, run a higher risk of being audited. Self-employed individuals, particularly independent contractors, are IRS targets for the same reason; they are more likely to have unreported cash income.
• No preparer or a problem preparer. If you have a complex return and prepared it yourself, or if your return was prepared by someone on the IRS's problem-preparer list, you are more likely to be audited.
• Certain deductions. The IRS has found it profitable to audit returns that claim office-in-the-home deductions, travel and entertainment deductions, and certain other write-offs where they feel taxpayers stretch the truth.
• Related party transactions. Taxpayers who involve family members in their financial operations are more likely to be scrutinized by the IRS. Paying wages to your children, lending money to relatives, splitting income among family members, or running a family business will make the IRS more interested in your returns.

Your Best Audit Defense

Between one and two percent of all individual tax returns filed in any year will be selected for audit.

Unless there is suspicion of fraud or substantial understatement of income, the IRS has three years from the due date of your return to initiate an audit. Typically, most returns are selected within two years of their filing date.

The best defense in an audit is a two-part strategy:

• Have supporting documentation for all deductions and credits.
• See your Tax Professional immediately upon notification that you're being audited.

An Enrolled Agent is a Tax Professional and can put your mind at ease, find the information that the IRS wants more quickly than you can, and very likely will save you money in the long run by getting a faster and more favorable conclusion to the audit.

A good tax advice does not cost you...it pays you!

Mike Mead, EA, CTC of Alliance Financial & Income tax, a boutique tax firm is an ELP - endorsed local provider by Dave Ramsey. At our firm we put our client first, we start by conducting a confidential fact finding to accurately assess the client tax needs, goals, etc. we then work with the client to achieve these needs and goals.

Our Dave Ramsey clients are individuals and business taxpayers who are in need of all or any of the following specialized tax services:

• Professional tax preparation: we prepare various tax returns, we provide our client a tax organizer also known as a "deduction finder" to make sure the client captures all their deductions and minimize their taxes legally from the get go. Tax preparation by a tax professional entails specialized knowledge and know how, like maximizing your deductions legally while avoiding errors that could lead to an audit by the IRS and or the state.
• Blue Sprpings Back taxes help: we work with delinquent taxpayers in resolving their back years tax matters, such as unfiled tax returns, filing regular returns in lieu of IRS' SFRs substitute for returns, tax compliance issues, releasing tax levies, garnishments, and liens.
• IRS & State tax audits: we represent our clients before the IRS and various state tax agencies such as the FTB Franchise Tax Board, BOE sales tax board of equalization, EDD employment development department. Our clients do not meet or get intimidated by the tax auditor, we obtain a power of attorney and represent and protect the client accordingly. We review all tax returns, records, etc. We assist the client in reconstructing their rerecords, and preparing for a successful audit.
• Payroll employment 941 tax problems: many employers find themselves at odds with the IRS, business owners are great in managing their business, increasing sales, managing customers and vendors. When cash flow is tight, they might incur a payroll tax problem, and the IRS would make unrealistic demand for full payment and start levying the business' bank accounts, accounts receivables, etc. We know you have rights, we know your options, and we make sure you get the best resolution for the lowest amount possible.
• Blue Springs Tax planning: our clients keep their taxes at a minimum by conducting appropriate tax planning strategies to legally minimize their tax liability. Our tax planning and coaching service quizzes clients on their families, homes, jobs, businesses, and investments, then recommends specific strategies and concepts for saving tax. We package those recommendations in plain English, to deliver the savings they really want. Proactive tax planning is the key to keeping more of what you make. Taxpayers need proactive tax planning help more than ever before, we identify and explore opportunities with you to cut your tax bill.
• Estate and Fiduciary tax: we offer professional estate, trust and gift tax return preparation and planning, for both federal and all states. We assist our clients by looking for post-mortem planning opportunities that may save their estate significant tax expense. Even though a federal estate tax return may not be due, post-mortem planning should be considered to help ease the tax liability of the surviving spouse’s estate.

Do not compromise on your Blue Springs tax service provider, call us for a free and confidential 15 minute consultation at 1-816-220-2001.

Tax Debt Relief Services

Payment Plan / Installment Agreement:

The IRS will almost always accept some type of payment arrangement for past due taxes. In order to qualify for a payment plan with the IRS you must meet the following rules and provide the IRS with this information:

• You must have filed all tax returns. (It's OK to owe money but you must file)
• You will need to disclose all assets owned including all cash and bank accounts.
• You must not have adequate cash available in a checking, savings, money market, or brokerage account to pay the IRS.
• You must not have the capacity to borrow the amount owed to the IRS from other sources (i.e., a second mortgage on your home).
• You must not have adequate equity in a retirement account from which you can borrow or liquidate; for example, IRA's or 401K's.

Assuming that you comply with the above list, then you can proceed to arrange a repayment of taxes with the IRS. The negotiation with the IRS will either take place over the phone with ACS (Automated Collection System), or in person with an IRS Revenue Officer.

The total dollar amount you owe usually dictates with whom the negotiations will be handled. Typically, IRS Revenue Officers are not involved in cases where the amounts owed are less than $25,000. The IRS will ask you to complete a personal financial statement and if a business is involved, then you will need a business financial statement. The IRS has determined allowable monthly expenses for individuals, which will be matched against your actual monthly expenses. The difference between your monthly income and your allowable monthly expenses will be the amount that the IRS will require you to pay on a monthly basis.

These monthly payments will continue until your outstanding tax liabilities are paid in full. WARNING! The IRS continues to add penalties and interest while you are making monthly payments.

This may cause you to be paying what you consider a large monthly payment to the IRS and your outstanding balance may in fact be increasing due to additional penalties and interest.

The IRS will not explain this to you! Be careful!

Penalty Abatement:

The IRS assessed taxpayers $26,515,093 (that's almost 27 Billion Dollars) in penalties during 2017. This is a huge figure.

If you're one of these taxpayers, there is hope. Taxpayers that are hit with IRS penalties can request the penalties to be abated. Abated means to completely or partially be removed. In many cases where a taxpayer requests abatement, the IRS removes 100% of the penalty.

The IRS requires that you have a good reason to request penalty abatement. What qualifies as a good reason? It depends on the circumstances involved with your particular situation.

The IRS procedures for deciding who qualifies for penalty abatement and for what reason seem to differ in each case. The best thing you can do is to request that the IRS abate your penalties by providing the circumstances surrounding your situation.

Audit Reconsideration:

This little known IRS program can be used to reopen a closed audit. The IRS rules on audits are very clear and when an audit is over it's usually over.

However the IRS has this program to handle situations where the taxpayer didn't get a fair deal in the original audit. For example the taxpayer may have never attended the original audit because they never received the audit letter or the taxpayer didn't understand what was going on and failed to provide the IRS information they requested.

There are many situations in which a taxpayer may qualify for Audit Reconsideration. The point is that any taxpayer that feels they didn't get a fair deal in their original audit can make a request for audit reconsideration.

Sometimes many years have gone by before taxpayers realize how much they owe the IRS for an old audit. Even in these cases where the time limits to appeal or file a tax court petition have long since expired, the taxpayer can still request audit reconsideration.

When the IRS agrees to audit reconsideration the taxpayer's case is assigned to an auditor to reopen the taxpayers audit. The taxpayer is then given the opportunity to have the original audit changed.

IRS Tax Appeals:

What is an Appeal? An Appeal is a request by a taxpayer that does not agree with an IRS decision. The action of filing an appeal puts the IRS on notice that the taxpayer doesn't agree with the IRS and is seeking a meeting to change the IRS decision.

The goal of the IRS Appeal Division is to "settle" disputes between the IRS and taxpayers.

The most common IRS decision which is appealed is that of an IRS Audit where the IRS has increased the taxpayer's tax liability. Often this increase includes additional penalties and interest.

The taxpayer must file an Appeals request within a certain time frame and follow the IRS guidelines for a valid Appeal's request. If a taxpayer doesn't file their Appeal request correctly and on time, they may lose their opportunity to have an Appeals officer listen to their side of the story.

Offer In Compromise - OIC:

The IRS Offer in Compromise program provides taxpayers that owe the IRS more than they could ever afford, a chance to pay a small amount as a full and final settlement. This program also offers taxpayers that don't agree that they actually owe the taxes in the first place, a chance to file an Offer in Compromise and have those tax liabilities reconsidered.

The Offer in Compromise program allows taxpayers to get a fresh start. All back tax liabilities are settled with the amount of the offer. All federal tax liens are released upon IRS acceptance of an Offer in Compromise and payment of the amount offered. An offer filed based on the taxpayers inability to pay the IRS looks at the taxpayer's current financial position and considers their ability to pay as well as their equity in assets. Based on these factors, an Offer amount is determined.

Taxpayers can compromise all types of IRS taxes, penalties and interest. Even payroll taxes can be compromised. The IRS accepts approximately 50% of all Offers filed with the average amount accepted is 14 cents on every dollar owed. If you qualify for this program you can save thousands of dollars in taxes, penalties and interest.

IRS Collection Appeal:

The Collection Appeal is an Appeal by a taxpayer that has been threatened with an IRS Levy or Seizure. This threat could have been received either verbally or in writing. The IRS allows you to file a Collection Appeal in these situations before they follow through on their levy or seizure. The Collection Appeal is filed on a one page form where the taxpayer is given the opportunity to explain how they think the situation could be solved without the IRS levy or seizure.

Your Appeal is assigned to an Appeals Officer who is required to make a decision on your Appeal within five days.

Expiration Of Statute:

The IRS has 10 years from the date of assessment (usually close to the filing date) to collect all taxes, penalties and interest from the taxpayer. The taxpayer does not owe the IRS anything after the 10-year date has passed.

As with all IRS rules, there are exceptions to this rule. Some examples are, if the taxpayer agrees in writing to allow the IRS more time to collect from them or if the taxpayer files bankruptcy during the 10 year period. In both of these situations the period for the IRS to collect is extended for a specific time.

Taxpayers that are approaching this 10-year date should request copies of their IRS transcripts to verify the assessment date, so they can accurately compute when the 10-year statue to collect will expire.

If the IRS is attempting to collect a tax liability which has expired under the 10 year statue, then the tax payer must inform the IRS in writing that they no longer have the right to collect this tax liability. If the taxpayer is correct, the IRS will write off the tax liabilities which have expired.

Innocent / Injured Spouse:

Taxpayers often find themselves in trouble with the IRS because of their spouses or Ex-spouse's actions. The IRS realizes that these situations do in fact occur.

In order to help taxpayers that are being subjected to IRS problems because of their spouse's actions, the IRS has come up with guidelines where a person may qualify as an innocent spouse. This means that if a taxpayer can prove they fit in those guidelines, then they may not be subject to the taxes caused by their spouses or ex-spouses. The IRS is currently considering new regulations, which would make it even easier to qualify as an innocent spouse.

Bankruptcy:

The IRS doesn't like to talk about the use of Bankruptcy to reduce tax liabilities, but the reality is that many IRS taxes, penalties and interest do qualify for complete discharge in Bankruptcy.

In order for a taxpayer to use the Bankruptcy laws to avoid paying income taxes, the taxpayer's income tax liabilities MUST QUALIFY. Many taxpayers file bankruptcy without first understanding the rules to qualify their own income tax liabilities. This often results in not discharging income taxes that could have been discharged if the taxpayer had understood the Bankruptcy laws.

The most common types of taxes eligible for discharge in bankruptcy are old individual income taxes. Taxes, which are not eligible for discharge in bankruptcy are Civil Penalties for payroll taxes.

Tax Tips for IRA Owners

There are both opportunities and pitfalls for IRA owners, and while you definitely don’t want to get caught up in a pitfall, you may want to take advantage of the opportunities. IRAs come in two varieties: the traditional and the Roth. The traditional generally provides a tax deduction for a contribution and tax-deferred accumulation, with distributions being taxable. On the other hand, there is no tax deduction for making a Roth contribution, but the distributions are tax-free.

So, it leaves taxpayers with a significant decision, with long-term consequences of whether to contribute to traditional or Roth IRA. If you can afford to make the contributions without a tax deduction, then the Roth IRA is probably the better choice in most circumstances. However, some high-income restrictions limit the deductibility of a traditional IRA and the ability to contribute to a Roth IRA.

Pitfalls – Here are some of the pitfalls that can be encountered with IRAs:

• Early withdrawals – IRAs were designed by the government to be retirement resources, and to deter individuals from tapping these accounts before retirement they added what is called an early withdrawal penalty of 10% of the taxable amount of the IRA distribution. The penalty generally applies for distributions made before reaching age 59-½, but there are some exceptions to the penalty.
   
• Excess contributions – The tax code sets the maximum amount that can be contributed to an IRA annually. Contributions in excess of those limits are subject to a nondeductible 6% excise tax penalty, and this penalty continues to apply each year until the over-contribution is corrected.
   
• Multiple rollovers – A rollover is where you take possession of the IRA funds for a period of time (up to 60 days) and then redeposit the funds into the same or another IRA. Only one IRA rollover is allowed in a 12-month period and all IRAs are treated as one for purposes of this rule. If more than one rollover is made in a 12-month period, the additional distributions are treated as taxable distributions and the rollover is treated as an excess contribution, with both causing significant tax and penalties. Rollovers can be avoided by directly transferring assets between IRA trustees.
  
• No Traditional IRA contributions in year reaching age 70½ - Individuals cannot make a Traditional IRA contribution in the year they reach the age 70½ or any year thereafter. This rule doesn’t apply to Roth IRAs. Contributions to a traditional IRA made in the year you turn 70½ (and for subsequent years) are treated as excess contributions and are subject to the nondeductible 6% excise tax penalty until corrected.
  
• Failing to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) – Individuals who have traditional IRA accounts must begin taking RMDs in the year they turn 70½ and in each year thereafter. However, the distribution for the year when an individual reaches age 70½ can be delayed to the next year without penalty if the distribution is made by April 1 of the next year. Failing to take a distribution is subject to a penalty equal to 50% of the RMD. The IRS will generally waive the penalty for non-willful failures to take the RMD, provided the individual has a valid excuse and the under-distribution is corrected. The RMD rules don’t apply to Roth IRAs while the owner is alive.

Opportunities

Late contributions – If you forgot to make an IRA contribution or just decided to do so for the prior year, the tax law allows you to make a retroactive contribution in the subsequent year, provided you do so before the unextended April filing due date. As an example, you can make an IRA contribution for 2018 through April 15, 2019. This is also a benefit for taxpayers who were not previously sure they could afford to make a contribution.

Switch the type of IRA – If you make an IRA contribution for a year, tax law allows you to switch the designation of that contribution from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, or vice versa, provided you do so before the unextended April filing due date.

Backdoor Roth IRA – Contributing to a Roth IRA is not allowed if the individual’s modified adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds a specified amount based on filing status. For example, the limits for 2019 are $203,000 if filing a joint return, $10,000 if filing married separate, or $137,000 for all others. If a high-income taxpayer would like to contribute to a Roth IRA but cannot because of the income limitation, there is a work-around that will allow the high-income individual to fund a Roth IRA. Here is how that backdoor Roth IRA works:

1. First, a contribution is made to a traditional IRA. For higher-income taxpayers who participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, a traditional IRA is allowed but is not deductible. Even if all or some portion is deductible, the contribution can be designated as not deductible.
   
2. Then, since the law allows an individual to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA without any income limitations, the non-deductible traditional IRA can be converted to a Roth IRA. Since the traditional IRA was non-deductible, the only tax related to the conversion would be on any appreciation in value of the traditional IRA before the conversion is completed.
   
   One potential pitfall to the backdoor Roth IRA is often overlooked by investment counselors and taxpayers alike that could result in an unexpected taxable event upon conversion. For distribution or conversion purposes, all of your IRAs (except Roth IRAs) are considered one account, and any distribution or converted amounts are deemed taken ratably from the deductible and non-deductible portions of the traditional IRA, and the portion that comes from the deductible contributions would be taxable. So, the conversion tax implications should be considered before employing the backdoor Roth strategy.

Alimony as compensation – In order to contribute to an IRA, an individual must receive “compensation.” For IRA purposes, compensation includes taxable alimony received. Thus, for purposes of determining IRA contribution and deduction limits, individuals who receive taxable alimony and separate maintenance payments may treat the alimony as compensation, for purposes of making either a traditional or a Roth contribution, allowing alimony recipients to save for their retirement.

Spousal IRA – One frequently overlooked tax benefit is the “spousal IRA.” Generally, IRA contributions are only allowed for taxpayers who have compensation (the term “compensation” includes wages, tips, bonuses, professional fees, commissions, taxable alimony received, and net income from self-employment). Spousal IRAs are the exception to that rule and allow a non-working or low-earning spouse to contribute to his or her own IRA, otherwise known as a spousal IRA, based upon his or her spouse’s compensation (as long as it is enough to support the contribution).

Saver’s credit – The saver’s credit, for low- to moderate-income taxpayers, helps offset part of the first $2,000 an individual voluntarily contributes to an IRA or other retirement plans. The saver’s credit is available in addition to any other tax savings resulting from contributing to an IRA or retirement plans. Like other tax credits, the saver’s credit can increase a taxpayer’s refund or reduce the tax owed. The maximum saver’s credit is $1,000 ($2,000 for married couples if both spouses contribute to a plan). The application of this credit is very limited. Please call for additional details.

IRA-to-charity direct transfers – Individuals age 70½ or over must withdraw annual RMDs from their IRAs. These folks can take advantage of a tax provision allowing taxpayers to transfer up to $100,000 annually from their IRAs to qualified charities. This provision may provide significant tax benefits, especially if you would be making a large donation (although it also works for small amounts) to a charity anyway.

Here is how this provision, if utilized, plays out on a tax return:

(1) The IRA distribution is excluded from income;
(2) The distribution counts toward the taxpayer’s RMD for the year; and
(3) The distribution does NOT count as a charitable contribution.

At first glance, this may not appear to provide a tax benefit. However, by excluding the distribution, a taxpayer with itemized deductions will lower his or her AGI, which will help with other tax breaks (or punishments) that are pegged at AGI levels, such as medical expenses, passive losses, and taxable Social Security income. In addition, non-itemizers essentially receive the benefit of a charitable contribution to offset the IRA distribution.

Please call this office for further details or to schedule an appointment for some IRA planning unique to your circumstances.   816-220-2001 or Online

Dirty Dozen part 1: Taxpayers should be aware of these tax scams

The tax filing deadline has come and gone, but tax scammers continue to work. Again this year, the IRS highlights the twelve top scams in its "Dirty Dozen" list. These scams are often aggressive and happen throughout the year.

The schemes run the gamut from simple refund inflation scams to complex tax shelter deals. A common theme throughout all: scams put taxpayers at risk.

Here is a recap of the first six scams in this year's Dirty Dozen. Each one includes a link where taxpayers can go to learn more about that scam. This is the first tip of two tips recapping the list of all 12 scams.

Phishing: Taxpayers should be alert to potential fake emails or websites looking to steal personal information. The IRS will never initiate contact with taxpayers by email about a bill or tax refund. Don’t click on one claiming to be from the IRS.

Phone Scams: Phone calls from criminals impersonating IRS agents remain an ongoing threat to taxpayers. The IRS has seen a surge of these phone scams in recent years as con artists threaten taxpayers with things like police arrest, deportation, and license revocation.

Identity Theft: Taxpayers should be alert all year long to tactics aimed at stealing their identities. The IRS, working in conjunction with the Security Summit partnership of state tax agencies and the tax industry, has made major improvements in detecting tax return related identity theft during the last several years. The agency reminds taxpayers that they can help in preventing this crime. The IRS continues to aggressively pursue criminals that file fraudulent tax returns using someone else’s Social Security number.

Return Preparer Fraud: Taxpayers should be on the lookout for unscrupulous return preparers. The vast majority of tax professionals provide honest, high-quality service. However, there are some dishonest preparers who operate to scam clients. These unscrupulous preparers perpetuate refund fraud, identity theft, and other scams that hurt taxpayers.

Inflated Refund Claims: Taxpayers should take note of anyone promising inflated tax refunds. Those preparers who ask clients to sign a blank return, promise a big refund before looking at taxpayer records or charge fees based on a percentage of the refund are probably up to no good. To find victims, fraudsters may use flyers, phony storefronts or word of mouth through community groups where trust is high.

Falsifying Income to Claim Credits: Con artists may convince unsuspecting taxpayers to invent income to erroneously qualify for tax credits, such as the earned income tax credit. This is important now for taxpayers who filed an extension of more time to file their taxes. No matter what time of the year, taxpayers should file the most accurate tax return possible because they are legally responsible for what is on their return. This scam can lead to taxpayers facing large bills to pay back taxes, interest and penalties.

Blue Springs Income Tax Preparation Services:  Your tax preparation needs are as individual as you are.  Alliance Financial & Income Tax takes an active approach to our tax planning and tax preparation services, giving you the personalized guidance you need. Today's tax laws are so complicated that filing taxes, no matter how simple, can quickly become confusing.

10 million tax payers missed out on a chance to receive a bigger refund last year simply because they neglected to fill out one line on their tax return.  Will you miss a similar opportunity this year?

Today's tax laws are increasingly complicated and the rules for deductions and credits change year by year.  Are you aware of all the deductions and credits that might be available to you this year, even on the most basic of tax returns?  Perhaps you feel secure in your do-it-yourself tax preparation software, but lets face it...There is not substitute for an experienced Enrolled Agent who can answer your questions and ask you the questions that might be key to saving you hundreds or even thousands in tax dollars. 

Another tax headache ahead: IRS is changing paycheck withholdings and it'll be a doozy

Another tax headache ahead: IRS is changing paycheck withholdings and it'll be a doozy: You finally finished your taxes and are learning – for better or worse – the ins and outs of the new law.

It's Not Too Late to Make a 2018 Retirement-Plan Contribution

Article Highlights: 

• Traditional IRAs 
• Roth IRAs 
• Spousal IRA Contributions 
• Simplified Employee Pension Plans 
• Solo 401(k) Plans 
• Health Savings Accounts 
• Saver’s Credit 
• Children with Earned Income 

Have you been ignoring your future retirement needs? This tends to happen when people are young; because retirement is far in the future, they believe that they have plenty of time to save for it. Some people even ignore the issue until late in life, which causes them to scramble to fund their retirement. Others even ignore the issue altogether, assuming that they will qualify for Social Security and that the resulting income will take care of their retirement needs.

Did you know that you can make retirement savings contributions after the close of the tax year and that these contributions may be deductible? With the April tax deadline in the near future, the window of opportunity is closing to maximize contributions to retirement and special-purpose plans for 2018. Many of these retirement contributions will also deliver tax deductions or tax credits for the 2018 tax year. 

Contribution Opportunities – Some 2018 retirement contributions are available after the close of the year. 

• Traditional IRAs – For 2018, the maximum traditional IRA contribution is $5,500 (or $6,500 if the taxpayer is at least 50 years old on December 31, 2018). A 2018 traditional IRA contribution can be made until April 15, 2019. However, for taxpayers who have other retirement plans, some or all of their IRA contributions may not be deductible. To be eligible to contribute to IRAs (of any type), taxpayers—or spouses if married and filing jointly—must have earned income such as wages or self-employment income.
  
• Roth IRAs – A Roth IRA is a nondeductible retirement account, but its earnings are tax-free upon withdrawal—provided that the requirements for the holding period and age are met. Roth IRAs are a good option for many taxpayers who aren’t eligible for deductible contributions to a traditional IRA. For 2018, the contribution limits for a Roth IRA are the same as for a traditional IRA: $5,500 (or $6,500 if the taxpayer is at least 50 years old). A 2018 Roth IRA contribution can also be made until April 15, 2019.
  
  Caution: For those who have both traditional and Roth IRA contributions, the combined limit for 2018 is also $5,500 (or $6,500 if the taxpayer is at least 50 years old).
   
• Spousal IRA Contributions – A nonworking spouse can open and contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA based on the working spouse’s earned income. The spouses are subject to the same contribution limits, and their combined contributions cannot exceed the working spouse’s earned income. Spousal IRA contributions for 2018 must also be made by April 15, 2019.
  
• Simplified Employee Pension IRAs – Simplified Employee Pension IRAs are tax-deferred plans for sole proprietorships and small businesses. This is probably the easiest way to build retirement dollars, as it requires virtually no paperwork. The maximum contribution depends on a business’s net earnings. For 2018, the maximum contribution is the lesser of 25% of the employee’s compensation or $55,000. A 2018 contribution to such a plan can be made up to the return’s due date (including extensions). Thus, unlike a traditional or Roth IRA, a Simplified Employee Pension IRA can be established and funded for 2018 as late as October 15, 2019 (if an extension to file a 2018 Form 1040 has been granted).
  
• Solo 401(k) Plans – A growing number of self-employed individuals are forsaking the Simplified Employee Pension IRA for a newer type of retirement plan called a Solo 401(k) or Self-Employed 401(k). This plan is available to self-employed individuals who do not have employees, and it is notable mostly for its high contribution levels.
  
  For 2018, Solo 401(k) contributions can equal 25% of compensation, plus a salary deferral of up to $18,500. The total contributions, however, can’t exceed $55,000 or 100% of compensation. Note that an individual must have established the Solo 401(k) account by December 31, 2018, to make 2018 contributions. However, contributions to an established account can then be made up to the return’s due date (which can be extended to October 15, 2019, for most taxpayers). Taxpayers who did not establish a Solo 401(k) account by the end of 2018 can still open one now for 2019 contributions.
  
• Health Savings Accounts – Health savings accounts are only available for individuals who have high-deductible health plans. For 2018, this refers to plans with a deductible of at least $1,350 for individual coverage or $2,700 for family coverage. These accounts allow individuals to save money to pay for their medical expenses.
  
  Money that an individual does not spend on medical expenses stays in that person’s account and gains (tax-free) interest, just like in an IRA. Because unused amounts remain available for later years, health savings accounts can be used as additional retirement funds. The maximum contributions for 2018 are $3,450 for individual coverage and $6,900 for family coverage. The annual contribution limits are increased by $1,000 for individuals who are at least 55 years old. Contributions to a health savings account for 2018 can be made through April 15, 2019.

Please note that the information provided above is abbreviated. Contact this office for specific details on how each option applies to your situation. 

Saver’s Credit – Low- and moderate-income workers are eligible for a saver’s credit that helps them offset part of the first $2,000 that they contribute to an IRA or a qualified employer-based retirement plan. This credit helps individuals who don’t normally have the resources to set money aside for retirement, and it is available in addition to the other tax benefits that are associated with retirement-plan contributions. 

This credit is provided to encourage taxpayers to save for retirement. To prevent taxpayers from taking distributions from existing retirement savings and then re-depositing them to claim this credit, the qualifying retirement contributions used to figure the credit are reduced by any retirement-plan distributions taken during a “testing period”: the prior two tax years, the current year, and the portion of the subsequent tax year up to the return’s due date (including extensions). 

Children with Earned Income – Many children hold part-time jobs, and after the recent tax reform, the standard deduction allows these children to earn $12,000 tax-free. This earned income also qualifies children for IRA contributions. Although children may balk at contributing their hard-earned income to an IRA, their parents or grandparents can gift Roth IRA contributions to children. That Roth IRA will significantly increase in value by the time the child reaches retirement age, 45 or 50 years later. 

Individuals’ financial resources, family obligations, health, life expectancy, and retirement expectations vary greatly, and there is no one-size-fits-all retirement strategy. Events such as purchasing a home or putting children through college can limit retirement contributions; these events must be accounted for in any retirement plan. 

If you have questions about any of the retirement vehicles discussed above or if you would like to discuss how retirement contributions will affect your 2018 tax return, please give this office a call.  816-220-2001