Does that QCD strategy help if you're not taking RMDs yet? I'm only 42 but I do donate about $3,000 a year to my church.

Unfortunately, the QCD strategy only works if you're at least 70.5 years old and are withdrawing from IRAs. At 42, your charitable donations would be itemized deductions rather than AGI reducers, and they go on Schedule A rather than directly reducing line 11. However, there is a strategy that might work for you - if you have a small business or freelance income, you might be able to structure some of your charitable giving as business sponsorships, which could be business expenses that reduce your AGI. This only works if there's a legitimate business purpose though, like advertising or promotion for your business.

Yes! I did this last year. If you're self-employed and not eligible for coverage through an employer (yours or spouse's), you can deduct 100% of your premiums. For me that was about $14,000 for my family plan! It's an adjustment to income on Schedule 1, so it directly reduces AGI.

Wouldn't using a credit card work too? Especially if you can get one of those 0% intro offers? My tax bill is much smaller than OP's but I was thinking of going this route.

Credit cards can work for smaller amounts, but there are a few things to consider. First, most credit cards charge a processing fee (usually around 2-3%) when paying taxes. Second, those 0% intro offers typically only last 12-18 months, and $48,000 would be hard to pay off in that timeframe. If you can't pay it off before the promotional period ends, you'll get hit with much higher interest rates than what the IRS charges. For smaller tax bills, credit cards with promotional rates can definitely make sense if you have a solid plan to pay it off before the promotional period ends. Just make sure to calculate the processing fee into your total cost comparison.

You're thinking of an Offer in Compromise (OIC), which allows you to settle your tax debt for less than the full amount. However, it's not as easy as people think. The IRS only accepts an OIC if they genuinely believe they can't collect the full amount from you, either now or in the future. They'll look at your income, expenses, asset equity, and ability to pay. Most OICs get rejected because people have the means to pay through an installment agreement. If you have assets you could sell or a decent income, it's unlikely to be approved.

This is such an important distinction! I messed this up one year and it was a nightmare to fix. Quick question - if you have access to both an HSA and FSA (limited purpose FSA), can you contribute to both in the same year? My benefits coordinator gave me conflicting info.

Yes, you can contribute to both an HSA and a Limited Purpose FSA in the same year. The key is that it must be a "Limited Purpose" FSA that only covers dental and vision expenses, not a regular medical FSA that covers all healthcare expenses. Regular medical FSAs would make you ineligible for HSA contributions, but the Limited Purpose FSAs are specifically designed to work alongside HSAs. This combination actually gives you the most tax advantages, as you can use the Limited Purpose FSA for immediate dental/vision needs while letting your HSA investments grow for future medical expenses.

The limits for 2024 are higher just fyi: - $4,150 for individual coverage - $8,300 for family coverage Plus still the +$1,000 for 55+ folks

Is the contribution limit per calendar year or plan year? My company's health plan runs July-June but taxes are Jan-Dec. Always confuses me when figuring the max I can contribute.

That's an excellent point I hadn't considered. So even if I'm able to zero out my income tax through 401k contributions, I'd still be paying unnecessary SE tax if I don't claim my business expenses. Could you explain a bit more about how the SE tax calculation works with Solo 401k contributions?

Exactly! Solo 401k contributions don't reduce your self-employment tax liability - only your regular income tax. SE tax is calculated on your net earnings from self-employment (Schedule C profit) before any retirement plan contributions. So if you have $19,500 in income and don't deduct that $4,000 in expenses, you'd pay SE tax on the full $19,500. But if you properly deduct the $4,000, you'd only pay SE tax on $15,500. At the 15.3% SE tax rate, that's a savings of about $612. That's real money you'd be leaving on the table by not claiming legitimate expenses!

Did you get audited or have any issues with the IRS over it? I've been wondering how they would even know if you didn't report some expenses.

Does FreeTaxUSA handle all the same forms? I have some investment stuff and a rental property too.

Yes, FreeTaxUSA handles all the same forms as TurboTax including investment income and rental properties. I have both and had no issues. The interface isn't quite as polished but it does the exact same calculations. The only real difference I noticed is it doesn't import some forms automatically like TurboTax does, so you might need to enter some information manually. But considering the price difference, it's absolutely worth the few extra minutes of typing.

What apps do you recommend for tracking mileage? I always forget to log my trips.