Your revenue tax return for 2022 will not be due till April 18, 2023 — you may’t file it till late January on the earliest — however there are a number of actions you may take now that would show you how to out when it comes time to finish your 1040 type. The finish of the yr is a superb time to evaluation your tax state of affairs and make any adjustments to scale back tax legal responsibility and maximize your tax refund.
While a few of these tax methods can noticeably scale back your tax legal responsibility, you have to act with urgency. You’ve received lower than two months left in 2022 to optimize your tax state of affairs, and a few of these steps will take time and preparation to finish earlier than the Dec. 31 deadline.
It’s value taking the time to evaluation your tax state of affairs, as a little bit effort now might repay massive later. Read on to search out end-of-the-year tax tips to set you up for the upcoming tax season. For extra, be taught if you must pay taxes on scholar mortgage debt reduction or cash that you simply earn by way of Venmo or CashApp.
1. Double-check your paycheck for tax withholding
The US has a “pay as you go” mannequin of revenue tax, which is why your employer withholds cash out of your paycheck and freelancers need to pay estimated taxes quarterly. Failure to pay sufficient taxes throughout the yr can lead to a penalty at tax time.
Your employer determines the quantity withheld out of your paycheck by your W-4 tax type, which incorporates your submitting standing and estimated tax deductions. The finish of the yr is a superb time to evaluation your W-4 and present withholding to resolve if you wish to change it.
The IRS’ Tax Withholding Estimator tool enables you to estimate your present withholding and projected tax refund in an effort to alter your W-4 type. You can submit an up to date W-4 form to your organization at any time, and your employer should institute your adjustments by the beginning of the primary payroll interval that is 30 days or longer after your W-4 submission.
2. Sell loser shares to offset capital good points
It’s been a tricky yr for the inventory market — the S&P 500 index is down greater than 20% in 2022, and inventory worth good points have been uncommon. One vibrant spot of a bear market is that each one these potential inventory losses provide an amazing probability to apply “tax loss harvesting.”
The tax technique works by realizing losses, or promoting your shares and property which have misplaced worth, to offset different capital good points you might have earned. For instance, in case you made $25,000 in revenue on a real-estate sale in 2022 however misplaced massive on an funding in a struggling inventory like Netflix or Meta, you may promote your securities and subtract the monetary lack of that funding out of your capital good points. If you might have $25,000 in inventory losses, you may offset the $25,000 you earned from the real-estate sale and pay no taxes in any respect.
Capital good points embody any revenue that you simply earn via the sale of property, resembling shares, actual property, vehicles, furnishings, or another tangible properties, however you will need to really promote property to comprehend losses and offset good points.
3. Max out your retirement account contributions
Retirement funds like 401(okay) accounts and IRAs present some of the productive tax deductions as a result of you may scale back your tax invoice whereas constructing a nest egg for the longer term. If you may afford it, max out your attainable contributions to any retirement account earlier than the top of the yr.
The deduction limit for 401(k) contributions for 2022 taxes is $20,500, and that does not depend employer contributions. A employee within the 24% tax bracket might knock nearly $5,000 off their tax invoice simply by saving cash for the longer term. Crank up the proportion of your common 401(okay) contribution for the final pay intervals of 2022 to benefit from your potential retirement deductions.
If you are over 50, you may contribute extra to your 401(okay) with “catch up” contributions totaling $6,500 per yr (or $27,000 complete) in 2022, if permitted by your 401(okay) plan. You do not even have to be “behind” in your 401(okay) contributions to make extra deferrals to your account.
For IRAs, the utmost quantity of tax deductible contributions for 2022 is $6,000, or $7,000 if you’re over 50. However, the amount of cash that you may deduct out of your taxes relies on each your revenue and whether or not or not you might have a work-provided retirement plan.
4. Make your private home extra power environment friendly
Thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, there are some main incentives to creating your private home “greener.” The regulation tripled the quantity of tax credit you will get for growing your private home’s power effectivity, although the proportion credit score has decreased a bit from its most of 30% for enhancements made earlier than 2020.
Tax credit have extra of an affect in your tax invoice than deductions. While deductions decrease your stage of taxable revenue, tax credit immediately scale back the quantity of taxes that you simply owe to the IRS.
Installing a photo voltaic power system, wind turbine or geothermal warmth pump can now offer you 26% of the associated fee again if accomplished earlier than Jan. 1, 2023. Next yr, the credit score slips to 22%. In California, the average cost of solar installation is $14,100. If you made that enchancment to your private home in 2022, you’d knock $3,666 off your taxes.
Tax credit for power enhancements aren’t restricted to various power. Simply putting in new qualified Energy Star-certified furnaces and boilers can reap tax credit too, although smaller than for various power. Be certain to test the producer’s tax certification assertion, as not each Energy Star-certified product is eligible.
5. Consider deferring end-of-year bonuses and funds
It’s not at all times straightforward to postpone fee out of your employer, however in case you obtain an end-of-year bonus and wish to lower your taxable revenue as a lot as attainable this yr, take into account asking your organization to pay you in January.
Similarly, in case you’re a freelancer or contractor and also you wish to scale back your taxable revenue for 2022, take into account delaying your invoices till December in order that you do not get paid till January. You’re solely suspending fee of revenue taxes on that cash till 2023 taxes are due, so you may have to strategize on whether or not this yr or subsequent can be higher for incomes that cash.
6. Complete all your charitable contributions
If you itemize your tax deductions and wish to contribute financially to the causes and teams that you simply assist, do it earlier than the top of the yr to finest scale back your taxable revenue for 2022. Most taxpayers can typically deduct charitable donations as much as 50% of their taxable revenue.
Before donating to anybody, ensure that your contribution shall be tax deductible by looking the IRS’ tax-exempt organization database. All legitimate charities and non-profits can even have a tax identification quantity that identifies them as tax-exempt.
7. Check your required minimal distributions from retirement accounts
US tax regulation requires that Americans begin receiving distributions from their private or work-provided retirement accounts once they attain a sure age — the SECURE Act of 2019 raised the age from 70 ½ to 72, for these turning 70 ½ after Dec. 31, 2019.
These distributions are obligatory for 401(okay) plans, conventional IRAs, profit-sharing plans and pensions. They’re not required for Roth IRAs whereas the proprietor is alive.
Required minimal distributions, or RMDs, are calculated by including up all the cash in your retirement accounts and dividing by an IRS life expectancy issue. The Securities and Exchange Commission supplies a simple calculator that includes the newest IRS life expectancy tables.
While the administrator of your retirement plan is required to comply with tax regulation for RMDs, it is as much as you to ensure you’re getting the correct quantity. If you do not meet the required quantity in your RMD, you may face the harshest IRS penalty round — 50% on the shortfall.
That means in case you had been required to withdraw $20,000 however solely obtained $10,000, you are going to need to pay a whopping $5,000 penalty. It’s undoubtedly value double-checking your RMD for 2022 and withdrawing extra money if required.
8. Combine all medical bills into one yr
Medical bills generally is a vital deduction for a lot of taxpayers, however the IRS solely permits you to deduct bills which are in extra of seven.5% of your AGI. For instance, in case your AGI is $50,000, and also you spent $5,000 on medical bills, you may deduct $1,250 ($5,000 – ($50,000 x 7.5%)) out of your taxable revenue.
For that motive, it may be advantageous to group all your main medical bills into one yr. These bills can embody surgical procedures, preventative care, hospital visits, dental care, prescription drugs, glasses, listening to aids and psychological well being care like remedy, in addition to transportation prices to and from suppliers.
If you are approaching 7.5% of AGI in medical bills this yr, take into account making as lots of your anticipated health-related purchases by the top of December. Get your enamel straightened, purchase these new glasses or schedule that elective surgical procedure by the top of 2022, and you will maximize your medical deductions.
Similarly, in case you’re not approaching that 7.5% of AGI threshold for medical bills in 2022, maintain off on any non-urgent health-related purchases till January, once they may very well be extra advantageous for subsequent yr’s revenue taxes.
9. Strategize your online business bills
If you are self-employed or a freelancer, deducting your online business bills can prevent appreciable cash on taxes. Depending on how a lot you’ve got already spent in your skilled work this yr, you may take into account prepaying for subsequent yr’s bills earlier than the top of 2022 in an effort to scale back your tax burden.
For instance, as a substitute of shopping for provides a month at a time, you may order and pay in December 2022 for provides that you will use for a number of months of 2023. The timing of your deductions may rely upon whether or not you utilize a money technique of accounting or accrual foundation, however front-loading enterprise bills for subsequent yr is a time-tested approach of lowering your taxable revenue for the present yr.
It’s essential to notice that everybody’s tax state of affairs is totally different. These end-of-year tax tips could also be efficient for you, however there isn’t any “one size fits all” method to tax preparation. Be certain to seek the advice of a tax skilled earlier than making any main tax selections.
For extra on the 2022 tax season, see how a lot revenue brackets and the usual deduction are altering in 2023.