Can I still reduce my 2023 AGI now that it's 2024 tax filing season?

I'm in a bit of a bind here and hoping someone can help. I just started working on my 2023 taxes and realized my AGI is way higher than I expected. This is pushing me into a higher tax bracket and I'm going to owe a lot more than I planned for. I had some unexpected consulting income in the last quarter that I didn't account for in my planning. Is there anything I can still do in 2024 to reduce my 2023 AGI before I file? Are there any retroactive contributions or deductions I can take advantage of now? Or am I basically stuck with whatever my income was last year? I've heard something about IRA contributions possibly helping but I'm not sure how that works or if there are other options. Any advice would be super appreciated because I'm looking at a pretty significant tax bill otherwise!

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18 comments

Mei Wong

•8M

Yes, you still have a few options to reduce your 2023 AGI even though we're now in 2024! The most common way is making a Traditional IRA contribution for 2023, which you can do until the tax filing deadline (April 15, 2024). Depending on your income level and whether you have a retirement plan at work, you might be able to deduct up to $6,500 ($7,500 if you're 50 or older). Another option is contributing to a Health Savings Account (HSA) for 2023 if you had an eligible high-deductible health plan last year. The contribution limit was $3,850 for individual coverage or $7,750 for family coverage, plus an extra $1,000 if you're 55 or older. Like the IRA, you can make these contributions until the tax filing deadline. Self-employed? You might be able to open and fund a SEP IRA until the tax filing deadline (including extensions).

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Mei Wong

•8M

Yes, having a 401(k) does affect your Traditional IRA deduction. If you're covered by a workplace retirement plan, the deduction begins to phase out at a modified AGI of $73,000 for single filers and $116,000 for married filing jointly (for 2023). Once your income exceeds $83,000 (single) or $136,000 (married), you can't take the deduction at all. However, you can still make a non-deductible contribution to a Traditional IRA and potentially convert it to a Roth IRA (known as a backdoor Roth). While this won't reduce your AGI, it might be a good retirement savings strategy.

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Amara Okafor

•8M

I was in exactly the same situation last year when I realized my AGI was going to push me into a higher bracket. I found this amazing tool at https://taxr.ai that analyzes your tax situation and identifies ALL possible deductions you might have missed. It literally found $4,300 in additional deductions I could take that my regular tax software missed! The coolest thing was that it reviewed my entire financial picture and pointed out that I could still make an HSA contribution for the previous year, plus it identified some business expenses I hadn't properly categorized that further reduced my AGI. Saved me a ton on my tax bill and was super easy to use - just uploaded my documents and got personalized advice.

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Amara Okafor

•8M

It's different from TurboTax because it specifically focuses on finding deductions and credits you might miss. It doesn't file your taxes - instead it gives you recommendations you can implement in whatever tax software you're already using. The retroactive deduction feature is what really helped me. It identified which deductions I could still legally take for the previous tax year and gave step-by-step instructions on how to claim them. For example, it walked me through exactly how to make my HSA contribution and properly document it for the previous year, plus gave me the forms I needed for my tax filing.

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Giovanni Colombo

•8M

I was super skeptical at first but decided to try https://taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here. Honestly, it was a total game changer for my situation! I had a similar AGI problem and it found that I could still contribute to my SEP IRA since I had some self-employment income. I completely forgot this was an option! The tool also pointed out that some of my medical expenses could be deducted since they exceeded the threshold percentage of my AGI. Between these two things, I was able to reduce my taxable income by almost $9,000. The recommendations were really clear and I just took them to my accountant who implemented everything. Definitely worth checking out if you're trying to reduce your AGI retroactively!

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StarStrider

•8M

If you're trying to reach the IRS to ask about ways to reduce your 2023 AGI, good luck getting through to an actual human! I spent THREE DAYS trying to talk to someone about my retroactive contributions. After waiting on hold for hours and getting disconnected twice, I finally found https://claimyr.com and their service was a lifesaver. There's even a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They basically hold your place in the IRS phone queue and call you when an agent picks up. I got connected with an IRS rep in about 40 minutes (instead of the 3+ hour wait I was experiencing before). The agent walked me through exactly what forms I needed to document my retroactive IRA contribution and confirmed that yes, I could still reduce my 2023 AGI even though it was already 2024. Saved me hours of frustration!

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StarStrider

•8M

They don't put you at the front of the line - that would be impossible. What they do is call the IRS and wait in the queue for you. Their system monitors the call and when a human IRS agent finally answers, it automatically calls your phone and connects you directly to that agent. I was skeptical too before I tried it. But it worked exactly as promised. Instead of me being stuck on hold for hours, their system did the waiting. When my phone rang, I picked up and was immediately talking to an IRS agent. It saved me from having to stay glued to my phone for hours waiting for someone to pick up.

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Fatima Al-Qasimi

•8M

Ok I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After commenting earlier, I was struggling with my own AGI issues and couldn't get through to the IRS for clarification on making a retroactive HSA contribution. Out of desperation, I tried the service I was skeptical about. It actually worked perfectly! I got a call back in about 35 minutes and was connected directly to an IRS agent who confirmed that yes, I could still make a 2023 HSA contribution until April 15th. The agent even emailed me the proper forms to document the contribution. Without this service, I would have been on hold forever or just given up. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong - this service delivered exactly what it promised.

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Sofia Torres

•8M

Don't forget about self-employed retirement plans! If you had any self-employment income in 2023 (even side gig stuff), you might be eligible for a SEP IRA contribution which could significantly reduce your AGI. You can contribute up to 25% of your net self-employment income, up to a max of $66,000 for 2023. The best part is you can establish and fund a SEP IRA up until your tax filing deadline INCLUDING EXTENSIONS. So if you extend your return to October, you have until then to fund it!

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Sofia Torres

•8M

You'll need to open a specific SEP IRA account at a brokerage like Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab. Most have simple online applications and you can designate it as a SEP IRA during the account creation process. The contribution can come from any of your personal funds - it doesn't have to be directly from your freelance earnings. The important thing is that your contribution can't exceed 25% of your net self-employment income (after deducting expenses and the self-employment tax deduction). If you made $10,000 in net profit from freelancing, you could contribute up to about $2,500 to a SEP IRA which would directly reduce your AGI by that amount.

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