Business Innovators Radio - EP #58 -Tax Changes You Need to Know Before Filing in 2024 – The 15 Minute Financial Feast Podcast-With Mark Triplett & Troy Westendorf

Episode Date: January 25, 2024

We believe that every dollar has a purpose and a timeline. When and how your retirement assets will be used should be understood before making important financial decisions.The Triplett-Westendorf Purpose and Timeline 5 Step Planning Process (PT5) begins with Discovery.Understanding where you are now, and then defining where you want to go (Your Purpose) and when you want to get there (Your Timeline), programs your financial GPS. Our Purpose and Timeline 5-step process (PT5) programs your financial GPS.Learn more: http://triplett-westendorf.com/ | https://mypt5.com/The 15 Minute Financial Feast Podcasthttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/the-15-minute-financial-feast-podcast/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/ep-58-tax-changes-you-need-to-know-before-filing-in-2024-the-15-minute-financial-feast-podcast-with-mark-triplett-troy-westendorf

Welcome to the 15-minute financial feast podcast, bringing you 15-minute segments to help you retire with purpose on time. We're serving up food for thought and bread for the head. Are you hungry to learn? Here are your hosts, Mark Triplett and Troy Westendorf. Welcome to another episode of the 15-minute financial feast. Today, you are listening to the audio from a live television interview where one of our favorite local news station anchors asked us questions about a financial feast. topic on the minds of many hardworking folks in our community who are trying to make good decisions and get ahead. Tax filers received nearly 320 billion in refunds, but there's some important

changes you want to be aware of. Financial professional Mark Triplett from Triplett-Westendorf is here to fill us in what you need to know and share some helpful tax planning strategies. Okay, so what changes do people need to be aware of before they file their taxes this year? There are a couple of really big changes I think we need to address right out of the gate. So inflation has really been pretty wild and we've talked a lot about that. But that has an impact on the tax brackets. So we get an increase in tax brackets because of the cost of living adjustment or because the cost of living is increased. So tax rates didn't change, but tax brackets did. That means you can earn more income in the same tax bracket and pay the same tax rate. So you may find yourself having an increase

in income last year, but still staying in the same tax bracket. Or if your income didn't increase at all, you may be in a lower tax bracket than you were last year. I would get with a financial professional or your CPA and really figure out what bracket are you in and which your effective tax rate. And then that can help you determine should you take the standard of deduction, which also got a pretty significant increase because of inflation. Or should you itemize? Most folks are taking the standard deduction, though. And then with that, how do you lower your tax burden, you know, tax bracket adjustments? What do you even do to approach that? There are a lot of tax credits that are available, so many that we can't discuss all of them

right here, but that's a reason why it's often good to work with a tax planning professional who can tell you what you're eligible for, because that could save you thousands of dollars relative to the maybe a couple hundred that you pay to have a professional do that. And also, I'd say it's not too late to contribute to a tax deferred savings plan, like an IRA or something of that nature, to lower your taxable income, but that may not result in a tax savings. Tax savings only occurs if when you draw that money out in the future, you're in a lower tax bracket. So deciding whether you should contribute to a pre-tax account or maybe a Roth IRA, which is funded with after-tax money, but then never taxed again, really is going to be kind of a game

of figuring out where are you today and where you might be in the future. And it is kind of a mindset slash habit shift, right, to think about your taxes, your strategy year round. So it doesn't sneak up on us and then create just a headache of problems. You know, it's it does always feel like the dreaded thing everybody has to do. And I know so many people wait till the last minute. And I know so many people wait till the last minute and then they find themselves filing an extension and it's like unnecessary stress right well there's also there's a shortage of financial or CPAs tax planning professionals in our country so a lot of them are overwhelmed and that's why many folks are finding themselves having to file an extension because they're just not enough professionals to help everybody at one time you're going to be getting all of your tax

documents right now from your financial companies start gathering those and get with the financial professional and your tax professional right away so you can make decisions early rather than waiting the last minute. Yeah, let's not wait till tax day. Thank you so much for being with us today. Very helpful information. We appreciate your time. You've been listening to the 15-minute financial feast podcast. Remember, every dollar has a purpose and every dollar has a timeline. If you have questions about today's topic, schedule a call with a team member. Visit www.com. Until next time, be sure you're taking steps to retire with purpose on time. Mark Triplett is an investment advisor representative of and advisory services offered through Royal Fund Management LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor.

Nothing contained in this program should be considered an offer to buy or sell securities. Different investments have different risks associated with them, and not all investments are appropriate for all investors.