
Maxing out a traditional 401(k) and an HSA (if eligible) can reduce taxable income dollar-for-dollar, while tax-loss harvesting lets you use investment losses to offset gains. If you have any side or self-employed income, business deductions and retirement plans like a Solo 401(k) or SEP-IRA can shelter even more.
If so — home office deduction, auto loan interest (some cases), home loan interest (some cases), health care premiums, health care costs not covered by insurance if they exceed a total of $7k, look to see if you have any house upgrades that would allow for rebates (I have a epa certified stove that provides a $3k rebate over 2 or 3 years), business meals & travel, business expenses, business trainings, career-related certification trainings, career-related conference registration fees
There are sooooo many YouTube videos that cover stuff like this. Highly recommend you check it out. Also home improvements in your office (I’m able to deduct 100% of my new mini split because it’s in my office, my new monitor & laptop, new headphones, plus 1/3 of my utility costs since I work an average of 8hrs/day, every day).
But for w2 I’m not so sure. Honestly, with a w2, I was making $120k/yr. I had benefits, but now I’m a 1099 with 3 jobs (sounds worse than it is, and I love every single one of them), and I will be averaging $15k/mn. I’ll be making $18k in Jan, probably same in Feb. I’ll have a super easy one in June-Nov that will probably bump me up to $20k. Contracting is slept on
My recommendation for people feeling lost on what to do — have a double major in a highly technical field and English. For your internship, identify grants & reach out to companies saying that you will write them grants for free (get a portion like 5-10% if awarded, maybe help managing them if it’s during a summer break). They will take you up on it and it will be amazing on your resume if you are awarded the grant
(Continued) Charitable giving, especially through a donor-advised fund, can create immediate deductions, and owning real assets like rental property allows depreciation to further reduce taxable income. At this level, a good CPA is usually worth it, as strategic planning can save far more than their fee.