Strategic Tax Tips - April 3, 2018

By Colleen M. Henes, CFP®, JD
Financial Advisor, Advanced Planning

April 3, 2018

Do you know if you can contribute to a traditional IRA this year (or for 2017)?

If you have taxable compensation and you are under age 70 1/2, then the answer is “yes”! Your total contribution cannot exceed the lesser of your taxable income or $5,500 ($6,500 if you are age 50 or over). If you would like the contribution to apply for 2017, the deadline to make the contribution is April 17, 2018. It is imperative that you inform your tax preparer in every year you make traditional IRA contributions. (The same applies for any amounts that you’ve converted from a traditional IRA, SEP or Simple IRA to a Roth IRA.) Your tax preparer will compute the deductibility of your contributions and taxability of your conversions for the current year while simultaneously keeping track of all prior deductible v. non-deductible contributions and taxable conversions. This information is essential for when you start taking distributions from your IRAs in the future.

Unless otherwise expressly indicated, the opinions or views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect, and may differ from, the opinions or views of Strategic Financial Group, LLC or others within Strategic Financial Group, LLC, including its officers, managers, owners, employees or other service providers.