Grab These After-50 Tax Breaks (2024)

Let's assume your salary is $35,000 and your tax bracket is 25%. Contribute 6%—$2,100—and your taxable income will be reduced to $32,900. The income tax you’ll pay on $32,900 will be $525 less than on $35,000, according to figures from Intuit TurboTax.

To be clear: Retirement contributions made to a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k) are made on an after-tax basis. That is, you get no up-front tax break for these contributions, but the qualifying withdrawals that you take in retirement will be tax-free. However, when you contribute pretax money to a traditional IRA or a 401(k), it will grow tax-free. But you'll be liable for taxes once you start making withdrawals in retirement.

Keep in mind that the tax deduction you receive may be limited if you are (or your spouse is) covered by a workplace retirement plan and your income exceeds certain limits. According to the IRS, for 2024, IRA deductions for singles covered by a retirement plan at work aren't allowed after modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) reaches between $77,000 and $87,000.MAGI is your adjusted gross income, minus certain deductions, such as student loan interest.

For married couples filing jointly, if the spouse making the IRA contribution is covered by a workplace retirement plan, the phase-out range is increased to between $123,000 and $143,000. If an IRA contributor is not covered by a workplace retirement plan, and is married to someone who is covered, the phase-out range is between $230,000 and $240,000.

Roth IRAs also have income limits. For 2024, the income phase-out range for taxpayers making contributions to a Roth IRA is increased to between $146,000 and $161,000 for singles and heads of households. For married couples filing jointly, the income phase-out range is increased to between $230,000 and $240,000.

When it comes to catch-up contributions for a traditional IRA or Roth IRA, you still have time to do so for the 2023 tax year. The deadline is April 15, the filing date for your tax return, unless you file for an extension. However, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, Thrift Savings Plans and most 457 plans go by the calendar year, so you’ll be investing for 2024, and will have until the end of the year to do so.

2. Ease the pain of RMDs

Obviously, the longer you tap your retirement savings, the less you’ll have over your lifetime, and the greater the odds of outliving your money. Nevertheless, you can’t leave it untouched forever. You’ll probably have to face required minimum distributions (RMDs), the minimum amount you must withdraw from a tax-deferred retirement plan, such as a traditional IRA. Roth IRAs don't require distributions while the owner is alive.

Under rules that kicked in 2023 under the Secure Act 2.0, you can wait until the year in which you reach age 73 before you start taking RMDs.Previously, the age was 72. For your first RMD payment, you can delay it until April 1 of the following year, but you'll also have to pay another RMD in December of that year.

If you don't need the RMD, consider donating it to charity. Donate your RMD to a qualified charity directly from your retirement account, up to $100,000, and you won't owe income tax on the distribution.

3. Max out your HSA

Another often overlooked opportunity lies in Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) that employers offer, says Brenna Baucum, a CFP at Collective Wealth Planning in Salem, Oregon: “For those in their 50s, HSAs offer a unique advantage. By contributing to your HSA, you prepare for future health care expenses and enjoy a triple tax benefit—tax-deductible contributions [from your gross income], tax-free growth, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses.”

Also, there's a small catchup on the health savings account, $1,000, that Sandi Weaver, a CFP at Weaver Financial in Mission, Kansas, reminds her clients to make use of once they reach 55: “We get an immediate tax deduction for that catchup, plus for the basic HSA contribution itself, of course.”

Plus, the account is yours: You can take it with you to a new job and use the funds in retirement.