[Do 457 and extra pension contribs appear on tax return?]

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Pugs135
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Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2014 9:08 am

[Do 457 and extra pension contribs appear on tax return?]

Post by Pugs135 »

Anybody have a good website or source for understanding your tax return? I'm trying to see where my 457 contributions and extra pre and post tax money I put into my state pension are listed. Thanks. Pugs
livesoft
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Re: How to understand tax return

Post by livesoft »

irs.gov is probably the best web site for you. Maybe start by reading Publication 17. Simply enter "Pub 17" in your browser address and you will find it. Go from there.
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dodecahedron
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Re: How to understand tax return

Post by dodecahedron »

I do not believe you will find those contributions to 457 plans or retirement plans listed explicitly anywhere on your tax return. They are excluded from your earnings subject to tax, so your employer would have excluded or subtracted them out when computing the box 1 figure on your W-2.

So, in other words, your wages as reported on line 7 of your form 1040 are lower than they otherwise would have been because your employer excluded those contributions in computing your wages subject to federal income tax this year.

Your contributions to your 457 and retirement plan should be listed on your W-2 but not on your tax return.

The only exception would be if your AGI is low enough to qualify for the Retirement Savings Tax Credit, in which case you may see your contributions listed on Form 8880.

http://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Pla ... -Credit%29
JW-Retired
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Re: How to understand tax return

Post by JW-Retired »

457 deferrals should be one of your W-2 box 12 entries. Read the "Instructions for Employee" on the back of the W-2 to see which entry is which.
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cheesepep
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Re: How to understand tax return

Post by cheesepep »

I wish TT or other programs did something like this:

Because you donated $100 of goods, your tax liability went down by $29.
Because you qualified for the foreign income exclusion, your tax liability went down by $800.
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grabiner
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Re: How to understand tax return

Post by grabiner »

cheesepep wrote:I wish TT or other programs did something like this:

Because you donated $100 of goods, your tax liability went down by $29.
Because you qualified for the foreign income exclusion, your tax liability went down by $800.
The problem is that these things intersect in various ways, so the numbers won't be accurate.

Because you donated $3000 to charity, your tax liability went down by $750.
Because you deducted $3000 in mortgage points this year rather than amortizing them over the length of your mortgage, your tax liability went down by $750.
(However, if you had done neither of these things, you would have taken the standard deduction, and your tax liability would have been only $750 higher.)

Because you carried over a $3000 capital loss, your tax liability went down by $750.
Because you donated $3000 to charity, your tax liability went down by $750.
(However, if you had done neither of these things, your tax liability would have been $1590 higher, not $1500; you would have had $3000 more in taxable income in the 25% bracket, and $3000 more in the 28% bracket.)

Because you carried over a $3000 capital loss, your tax liability went down by $900.
Because you contributed $5500 to your deductible IRA, your tax liability went down by $1525.
(However, if you had done neither of these things, your tax liability would have been $2275 higher, not $2425; either one alone eliminated the $150 of child tax credit which you lost to the phase-out.)

Because you earned $5000 of interest on private activity bonds, your tax liability increased by $1750.
Because you paid $5000 of interest on your home-equity loan, your tax liability did not change.
(However, if you had done neither of these things, you wouldn't have been affected by the AMT, and you would have lost the $1400 tax savings from the home-equity loan deduction.)

Still, you can see how any individual number affects your taxes by changing it on your tax form (in forms mode). If you change your charitable contributions to zero, you can see what happens to your taxes, and get an idea of the tax benefit.
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Pugs135
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Re: [Do 457 and extra pension contribs appear on tax return?

Post by Pugs135 »

Thank you all for the replys.
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