START SAVING MEDICAL EXPENSE RECEIPTS
The tax reform bill made cuts to several deductions, but onethat was expanded by the legislation was the medical expense deduction.
Now, taxpayers can deduct qualified medical expenses thatexceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI). If you earn $60,000 per year, thistranslates to a threshold of $4,500. This sounds like a lot, and it is, butthere’s a longlist of expenses that qualify, including dental care, vision care,prescription medications, and any health insurance premiums you pay yourself.This still won’t likely be a widely-used deduction, but the lower AGI thresholdwill certainly open it up to more Americans.
CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR IRA
You have a longtime to make your IRAcontributions. Contributions for 2018 can be made until the tax deadline in2019, and you can still make your 2017 contributions until this year’s Tax Day.
However, if you’re one of the many Americans who waits untilthe deadline gets close to start stuffing money into their IRA, it could besmart to get started early. If you don’t have an IRA yet, consider opening one.If you open it before Tax Day, you can make contributions for 2017 and 2018 this year, and give yourretirement savings plan a kickstart.
BOOST YOUR 401K CONTRIBUTIONS
If you have an IRA at work, consider increasing yourcontributions to not only lower your taxable income, but put yourself on theroad to financial freedom later on. The typical 401(k) saver contributes justenough to take full advantage of their employer’s matching program, but thismay not be enough. Experts generally suggest that workers should aim to save10% of their salary, not including any employer contributions.