Best tax saving books for high income W-2 employees? Need strategies!

I'd recommend "The Tax Book for Wage Earners" by Samuel Richardson. Unlike most tax books that focus on business ownership, it specifically addresses strategies for W-2 employees. The book covers maximizing retirement contributions (401k, IRA, HSA), tax-loss harvesting in investment accounts, and timing of certain expenses. For your situation, you should focus on three main areas: pre-tax retirement contributions, tax-efficient investing, and above-the-line deductions that are available to employees. The biggest tax savings for salaried workers usually come from maxing out pre-tax retirement accounts, which can easily save you thousands in taxes annually.

I was in a similar position last year when I started making six figures for the first time. After trying to wade through complex tax guides, I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to be super helpful alongside books. It analyzed my specific income situation and showed me personalized tax strategies as a high-income employee. The site basically digests tax code and tells you exactly what applies to YOUR situation rather than generic advice.

I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and wow - it was actually worth it. As someone who was just promoted to management with a significant salary bump, I was looking at books but getting frustrated trying to figure out which strategies applied to me specifically. The tool analyzed my exact income bracket and showed me that I was right at a threshold where certain tax benefits start to phase out. It recommended specific actions to take before year-end that would have been hard to figure out from generic books. One strategy alone involving my HSA and retirement timing is saving me about $2,100 this year. Way more helpful than the general tax books I had been reading.

After multiple painful attempts trying to reach the IRS with questions about tax strategies that I read about, I finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually get through to a human at the IRS. They got me connected in about 15 minutes when I'd previously waited 2+ hours before giving up. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had specific questions about some strategies mentioned in "Tax-Free Wealth" by Tom Wheelwright and wanted to confirm if they applied to my situation as a high-income employee. The IRS agent actually clarified several points that saved me from making some pretty big mistakes based on my understanding from the book.

I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it because I was desperate to resolve an issue with my withholding calculations after reading conflicting advice in various tax books. I literally got through to an IRS representative in 17 minutes when I had previously spent over 3 hours on hold across multiple days. The agent cleared up my confusion about how certain retirement contributions would affect my withholding requirements given my new salary level. This was information I couldn't get from books because my situation had some unique aspects. Definitely worth it for getting factual clarification on how tax rules apply to your specific circumstances.

The best book I've found specifically for high-income employees is "Taxes: The Salaried Professional's Guide" by Elizabeth Warren (not the senator, different person). It focuses entirely on W-2 income strategies and ignores all the business owner stuff. My favorite thing about it was the chapter on tax-efficient investment strategies for your brokerage accounts. Made me realize I was making some big mistakes with my investment approach that were creating unnecessary tax drag.

Honestly all these tax books are pretty useless for regular employees. I bought like 3 of them and the advice is basically: - Max your 401k - Use your HSA if you have one - Take the standard deduction unless you have a house - Donate to charity if you itemize Saved you $20 and a few hours of reading lol. Unless you own a business or real estate there's not much you can do.

I just read "Taxes: What They Don't Teach You" by Richard Hendrix and it had a great chapter specifically for high-earning employees. Best tip I got was about coordinating spousal benefits and tax brackets if you're married. Saved us almost $3,800 just by adjusting how we handle retirement contributions between my wife and me.

As someone who recently went through this exact situation with a big salary increase, I can't stress enough how important it is to start planning early in the year rather than scrambling at tax time. One book that hasn't been mentioned yet is "The High Earner's Tax Handbook" by Robert Kiyosaki's tax strategist. It's specifically written for W-2 employees making over $100k and covers some advanced strategies like mega backdoor Roth conversions and tax-efficient charitable giving that most basic tax books skip. The biggest game-changer for me was learning about the timing of various deductions and income recognition. Simple things like when to exercise stock options, how to bunch charitable deductions, and coordinating bonuses with retirement contributions can save thousands. Don't just focus on the obvious stuff - there are legitimate strategies that can significantly reduce your tax burden even as a regular employee. Also, consider setting up a meeting with a fee-only financial advisor who specializes in tax planning. Sometimes the cost of professional advice pays for itself many times over, especially when you're dealing with your first high-income year.