12 Ways working Professionals in USA can Optimize their Taxes and Increase Take Home Pay (10 Mins Read)

The best way to increase the take home pay is to save on the taxes which the professionals have to pay. The taxpayers can save money on their by getting more organized this year, taking the advantage of every tax credit and the deduction for which they are eligible and also by checking the returns before filing for better accuracy.

What are the different ways to save money on the taxes in USA:

Listed below are various ways on how to save money on the taxes this year in order to reduce the tax liability and avoid costly mistakes.

• Be more organized.
• Consolidate the tax documents.
• Protect self against identity theft.
• Should know when to hire a tax expert. 
• Consider lesser known tax credits
• Take full advantage of tax deductions.
• Consider itemizing the deductions
• Claim for the dependents properly 
• Check your return carefully for accuracy before filing.
• Contribute to your retirement.
• Contribute to other qualified accounts
• Adjust your W-4 withholdings. 

1. Be more organized

Apart from the standard tax documents, this year the taxpayers have to check for the correspondence from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) regarding the economic impact payments and the advance child tax credit payments which they might have received in year 2021.Those taxpayers who have received a stimulus payment in 2021 must have received the letter 6475, which applies only to the third round of stimulus payments. The taxpayers who have received the advance child tax credit payments in 2021 must have received the letter 6419, which shows the total amount of payment received and the number of qualifying children considered to calculate the payments. If you have failed to review these letters it means that you have perhaps missed saving tax, as the taxpayers are eligible for a rebate credit for any kind of missing payments.

You must always remember to have your bank routing and the account numbers ready in order to receive your refund by direct deposit, as well as the birth dates, names and social security numbers of self, spouse and the dependents. 

2. Consolidate the tax documents

Before you start the tax filing process, consolidate all the important tax documents and the information. Most of these documents might be available digitally. Getting all the documents organized is the most important part of the filing process. Many of us have gone green in the last few years where employers are now using various online portals, and also the investment companies have gone digital where those tax forms aren’t being mailed to the home address, so going out and gathering all the requisite documents quite essential.

The documents most commonly used to complete a federal tax return include W 2s and 1099s which document any self-employment, freelance or investment incomes earned in the last year.

3. Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

You need to take adequate steps to prevent identity theft  and save yourself from incurring the extra costs that go along with tax related identity thefts. You can consider setting up an IRS identity protection PIN or multifactor authentication.

Previously IRS used to give a PIN number only to the identity theft victims, however that’s available now for anyone who wants to ensure another layer of protection. Earlier, they used to send it out through letter, but now anyone can get the PIN number online.

4. Know When to Hire a Tax expert 

Once you’ve organized and taken the stock of the year, you realize that your financial situation has become more complex this year. So, it would be wise spending money on a tax professional which can help you save a substantial amount of money in the long run as you will be able to avoid penalties or any mistakes which would otherwise be very costly to correct in the subsequent year.

5. Consider Lesser Known Tax Credits

While deductions reduce how much income is taxable on the other hand tax credits offset the taxes owed, making the tax credits quite valuable. You need to review the usually overlooked tax credits, like the adoption tax credit, the earned income tax credit and the saver’s credit.

For example, the earned income tax credit is worth more than $6,700 and moreover, the families with higher number of children are eligible for higher credit amounts.

6. Take full Advantage of the tax Deductions

Although deductions on contributions to charitable causes are typically limited to those who opt for itemized deductions, taxpayers can still be eligible for deduction of cash charitable contributions of up to $300 if they are single and $600 if married and filing jointly.

7. Consider Itemizing Deductions

For the 2021 tax year, the standard deduction is $12,550 if you are filing single and $25,100 if married and filing jointly. As the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2017 almost doubled the standard deduction, so it’s quite possible to save the most money by taking into account the standard deduction amount.

However, individuals in a high tax slab who own a home and made good charitable contributions in 2021 would save more money by itemizing their deductions. In order to make the itemizing worthwhile, the deductions should add up to more than the standard deduction amount.

8. Claim for the dependents properly

As many deductions and  tax credits rely on the number of children or dependents a taxpayer has, so it’s very important to properly claim for each of the dependents carefully. A dependent can either be a child under age 18 or under the age of 24 if a full time student, as well as a sibling, a parent or any other relative other than a spouse whoever qualifies. For the year 2021, the expanded child tax credit for each dependent is in between $3,000 and $3,600 which has been raised from $2,000 per child in 2020.

9. Check Your Return Carefully for Accuracy Before Filing

You should always give one final look through your tax return before you hit the submit button. Particularly, in this year your tax situation may have become more complicated than in the previous years. So, if you have sold or exchanged cryptocurrency in the year 2021or received advance child tax credit payments or have begun working remotely from another state, then you need to make sure that you’ve taken all the necessary steps to accurately report all those information to the IRS.

A clean return filing can not only help you in preventing you from experiencing IRS processing delays, but it will also make sure that you save a huge amount of money by avoiding penalties or overpayments.

10. Contribute to Your Retirement

It’s never too late to save money on your taxes by making a solid contribution to a qualified retirement plan and getting a deduction for that contribution.

For example, making a contribution to a traditional IRA will reduce the taxable income for the year. You can contribute $6,000 if you are under the age of 50 and $7,000 if you are 50 and older.

11. Contribute to Other Qualified Accounts

Apart from the retirement contributions, you should also review your other qualified accounts and make contributions wherever possible. For example, if you are covered by a qualified high deductible health plan and haven’t max out your 2021 contribution, you can still add money onto that up until the tax deadline.

12. Adjust Your W 4 Withholdings 

In case you have received a tax refund or paid a hefty tax bill this year, then you need to talk with your employer about adjusting your W 4 tax withholdings. This will help you in saving money in the long run by boosting your tax refund or increasing your take home pay, depending on the goals you have.

CONCLUSION:

Although the tax reform has eliminated many itemized deductions for most of the taxpayers, but still there are number of ways to trim the current tax liability and save for the future. In order to know more and learn more about various deductions and the ways of saving tax, it is always better to consult a qualified tax expert for carving out a good tax saving plan as per your occupation and income okay.

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