Tip: Plan For Your Taxes All Year Long

Published: Thu, 04/16/15

Taxes have just poked a hole in your wallet. It’s time to plan for the next round and resolve to make the hole smaller next year. The tip is plan every day for taxes. You’ve got to prepare the numbers all year long so your tax dude can plug them into the computer and generate your tax return on April 14^th.

Above the line and below the line is an important accounting principle that you may or may not be familiar with. “The Line” is the last line on page 1 of your 1040 form. It is the adjusted gross income (AGI) line. Anything that enters into your tax life above the line will add to or subtract from your AGI.

The AGI is a critical part of your taxes, because so many things are based on your AGI. For example, you can only deduct medical expenses that exceed 10% of your AGI. If you have a $50,000 AGI, you have to hit $5,000 in medical expenses before any medical expenses can be deducted. If you have $6,000 in medical expenses, you will only get to deduct $1,000 in expenses from your taxes. Either way, that deduction is “below the line” so it won’t affect your AGI.

There isn’t much you can do as a W2 employee to affect your AGI. The only practical thing you can do is contribute to a standard IRA. BUT, your little company and your real estate all enter your tax stream above the line. They are your tax shelters. People who have small businesses and real estate tend to be richer than the W2 wage earners. One of the main reasons is the small business and real estate give them the opportunity to play above the line.

Think all year: How do I get the deduction above the line instead of below the line? Buy the computer for the business, not the home. Learn the rules and keep track of mileage used for the business or real estate. Use business retirement plans and benefit plans. Make your real estate investments a business. Have a management company. Buy the trash can for the management company, not your home. This may sound like penny ante stuff, but it all adds up, and some of the retirement plans and benefit plans can put a big dent in your AGI.

Lee Phillips

P.S. I will be coming out with a totally new and beefed up Advanced Tax Tactics course in the next few weeks, and it will really help you make a dent in your AGI. But, remember to affect your AGI you have to be working above the line. Let’s cut taxes 20% this year. That’s an aggressive goal, but I think we can do it. Think above the line!