Leaving “Money on the Table” is an idiom, which means not getting as much money as you could.

You can do this in a lot of different ways such as salary negotiations, selling low when you bought high, or by not using the IRS tax rules and planning opportunities and then leave your hard earned money “on the table”.

The IRS, literally, spells “theirs”. The money is theirs if you just wait until the tax- filing season comes, complete & submit your 1040 tax form and then pay the amount owed or get a refund.

As a CPA – Tax Advisor, I love learning the rules and then sharing information to help other people reduce their tax bills. It is my way to help empower other people and hopefully, make a small difference in their quality of life. Nobody likes paying taxes; almost all of us like to save money.

Yes, we need to pay our share, but we don’t need to pay more than we need to. The IRS also does not want us to pay more than we should. The rules are in place to help us pay less. It is our responsibility and our choice to use them or not. The IRS is not going to tell you, you could have paid less, if you had just (xxx). There are a lot of possible ways to “fill in the blank”. Each tax story is unique.

As an advocate for “not leaving money on the table”, I offer you some practical, actionable, steps to take now to see if you can reduce your 2015 tax bill, now, before it is too late.

Step One: Estimate your 2015 Income & IRS Withholding

If you want to want to make sure your money is more in “your pocket” than theirs:
• Determine how much you have earned this year
• Determine what you have paid toward your 2015 tax bill
• Then increase each of these amounts to estimate the year-end amounts

Step Two: Compare this year to last year:

Now that you have a glimpse of your 2015 tax situation, compare those numbers to those on your 2014 tax return. A filed return can be used as a sort of “road map” to see if there are options to reduce your tax bill now or in the future.

For example, did you get a refund last year? If so, consider this:

Last year, Kiplinger’s had a great article titled, “Safeguard your Refund by shrinking it”. The article includes the following:
• More than 75% of Americans get an IRS tax refund each year which is the equivalent of giving the IRS an interest free loan
• Identity Theft is on the rise and thieves file fraudulent returns to collect refunds. Avoid this risk by limiting the amount of refund you receive
• Use on –line tax calculators to see if your estimated tax withholding is correct; the IRS and Kiplinger’s both provide these tools
• File a revised W-4 with your employer this year to change your tax withholdings; remember the goal is to break even

Step Three: Review 2015 & determine actionable steps

Shift “Income” to this year or to next year?

Consider if you can shift your income to decrease the amount of tax owed.

If you think your income will decrease next year and your tax rate would be lower, can you:
1. Defer a year-end bonus to January 2016?
2. Postpone a sale that will trigger a gain to next year?
3. Delay exercising stock options?

Alternatively, it may make sense to move income to this year:
1. Covert a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA and recognize the conversion income this year?
2. Take IRA distributions this year?

Shift Payments?
If you itemize, would you benefit if you changed the timing of some of your payments?
If you expect your income to decrease next year, then you might want to move some payments/deductions to the current year to offset your higher income this year. Can you:
• Prepay property taxes?
• Make your January mortgage payment this year?
• If you owe state income taxes, consider making up any shortfall rather than waiting until your return is due
• Consider the timing of medical expenses so you can benefit from the deduction?
• Sell some or all of your loss stocks?
• If you qualify for a health savings account, consider setting one up and making the maximum contribution allowable

Defer Deductions to 2016
If you expect tax rates to increase next year, or if you anticipate a substantial increase in taxable income, you may want to explore waiting to take deductions until 2016:
• Postpone year-end charitable contributions, property tax payments, and medical & dental expense payments, to the extent you might get a deduction for such payments
• Postpone the sale of any loss-generating property

Step Four: Can you do anything else?
For those that would like to take it a step further, consider if there is anything you can do to increase your “Above the Line Deductions”.

On a Federal Individual 1040 tax form, the basic formula is:
Income minus “Above the Line” deductions = Adjusted Gross Income.

These deductions include paying monies to:
• Establish an IRA for you or your spouse?
• If qualified, set up a Health Savings Account?
• If self-employed, would you benefit from having health insurance or a Qualified Pension Plan?

While this is not an exhaustive list, I hope it gives you enough information to initiate your plan, act this year, and save money on your 2015 next tax bill.

A dollar saved is a dollar you don’t need to earn. Keep marching towards financial freedom. Happy planning!

Deb Fox is working to make a difference in peoples lives, hearts, and wallets by helping others protect their financial health and is available for side-by-side, remote, or mobile appointments. More information is available at http://www.debfoxfinancial.com. Questions or comments can be sent to debfoxfinancial@gmail.com