If you believe that you're in a lower tax bracket now than when you retire, you could potentially save more in future tax payments.
The base case is where you have some money and
are in a low tax bracket now, but will be in a higher one soon.
Not exact matches
But
now there
are four capital gains rates
in effect: 0 percent for those
in the
lowest two
brackets, 15 percent for middle - income taxpayers, 18.8 percent for those
in the 15 percent
bracket who also owe the 3.8 percent Medicare
tax, and 23.8 percent for high - income earners who pay the 20 percent capital gains rate plus the 3.8 percent Medicare
tax.
Typically, if you
're young and
in a
lower earnings
bracket than you expect to
be later
in life, a Roth may make sense — you'll forgo
tax deductions
now, but later, when you
're in a higher
bracket, you won't pay
taxes on distributions.
When you
're young, you may fall into a
lower tax bracket than you will later
in life, so pay the taxman
now.
«This
is especially good for young people
in lower tax brackets who don't need the deduction as much right
now,» says Lockwood.
If you believe your
tax rate
is lower now than it will
be when you start taking withdrawals, a conversion may look promising because you'll pay conversion
taxes while you
're in a
lower tax bracket and enjoy
tax - free Roth IRA withdrawals later (when the higher
tax bracket won't matter).
However,
now that you
are retired you
are almost certainly
in a
lower tax bracket and hopefully your planning accounted for this.
If you
are in a really
low tax bracket right
now, that minimizes some of the gain for you.
If you really need a
tax break
now because your income and
tax brackets are high, and you think that they will
be lower in the future, then the 401k may
be the one to max out first.
But
low postdoc salaries mean you will (hopefully)
be in a higher
tax bracket when you retire than you
are now.
So if you think you'll
be earning less
in retirement than you do
now, an RRSP
is the best investing option — you'll
be in a
lower tax bracket when you withdraw the funds than you
are now.
If you believe your
tax rate
is lower now than it will
be when you start taking withdrawals, a conversion may look promising because you'll pay conversion
taxes while you
're in a
lower tax bracket and enjoy
tax - free Roth IRA withdrawals later (when the higher
tax bracket won't matter).
If that
's the case, you might consider taking some early RRSP withdrawals
now at a
low tax rate so that your income and
tax bracket in your 70s and 80s could
be lower.
You will have to pay
tax when you eventually take the money out of your RRSP
in retirement, but you will probably
be in a
lower tax bracket at that point, so the rebate you get
now looms larger than the
tax you will pay
in the future.
RRSP contributions
are also generally the better option if you fit the classic RRSP profile of saving for retirement while
being in a fairly high
bracket now and a
lower tax bracket in retirement.
We have clients that
are in very
low tax brackets right
now looking to get into six figure incomes from their IRA distributions.
Right
now, you
are going to have nine more years of
being in a very
low tax bracket.
And
tax reform
lowered the
tax rates — they
are now in the 12 % marginal
tax bracket.
And for the case of someone with no spare RRSP room and non-registered investments, there
's a similar dilemma of whether to realize the gains
now in a
low bracket, paying
tax now so you have less to continue investing, but resetting your cost basis higher for the future.
Or you could take the Roth option if you expect to make more money later and pay the
taxes now while you
are young and presumably
in a
lower tax bracket.
If you can begin to draw on her RRSP savings
now while her income and her
tax rate
are low, it may help keep her
in a
lower tax bracket during her 70s and 80s by drawing down a bit
now during her 60s.
Think you'll
be in a higher
tax bracket in retirement, or if you
're temporarily
in a
lower tax bracket now
With your drop
in income, you
're now in a
lower tax bracket — which means fewer
taxes on any home sale during this period.
If someone believes their
tax bracket will
be lower in retirement, they may want to consider taking the
tax deduction available
now with a Traditional IRA.
Yes, you will eventually
be taxed in retirement when you withdraw from your 401k, but by then you will not earn a steady income anymore, so it
is likely your
tax bracket will
be lower than it
is now.
As long as you
're in a
lower tax bracket - you would probably
be better off paying the
taxes now, and investing into the Roth IRA / 401K.
This analysis leads me to believe the risk of paying
tax now only to find tHat you
are in a
lower bracket upon retiring
is far greater than the opposite.
It
's often better to go with a Traditional IRA if you pay a lot
in taxes now and think you'll
be in a
lower tax bracket after retirement.
It mostly comes down to whether you expect to
be in a
lower tax bracket when you retire than you
are now?
On the other hand, if you
're in a
low tax bracket today, you might consider a Roth
now, when a
lowering of your gross income will not
be as significant a
tax benefit as it might
be later on, if you find yourself
in a higher
bracket.
Personally, I use a Roth IRA because I
'm in a
low tax bracket right
now since I don't make enough money.
If you
're in the classic case where RRSPs work best — you earn a fairly high income
now but expect to
be in a
lower tax bracket in retirement — RRSPs beat the
tax benefits from your CPP contributions hands down.
Therefore, you'd rather your contributions
be taxed now,
in a
lower tax bracket, and not have to worry about it when you
're older and likely paying higher
taxes.