Strategies for reducing taxable W-2 income beyond 401k and HSA

[newgirl]

I am currently maxing my 401k and HSA contributions, as well as dependent care flex spending account. I make too much to qualify for a deductible IRA.

Are there any other vehicles I can use to reduce my taxable income? Do 529 plans reduce federal income or just state?

I file as HoH and I need to make sure my 2018 taxable income is below $95k/year in order to take advantage of the child tax credit. For 2017 I made too much and didn't realize it until filing :(

[MDM]

I file as HoH and I need to make sure my 2018 taxable income is below $95k/year in order to take advantage of the child tax credit. For 2017 I made too much and didn't realize it until filing :(

You may be pleasantly surprised by the new tax law.

E.g., try your numbers in the "what if?" worksheets of TurboTax, TaxAct, etc., the case study spreadsheet, etc.

[secondcor521]

529 plans only reduce state income taxes (and then only if it's your own state 529 plan), not federal.  Well, they reduce federal taxes later in the sense that income inside a 529 is federally tax-deferred, and withdrawals used for qualified educational expenses are federally tax-free.

You can take a look at lines 23 through 42 of Form 1040 to see all of the things that reduce taxable income.

Oh, and as the previous poster hinted, the income limits for the child tax credit were increased by quite a bit under the new tax law.  A quick google search says that you can get the full credit in 2018 as HoH if your MAGI is under $200K.

[Much Fishing to Do]

I'm having unusually high income years and I'm near FIRE so I'm funding a Donor advised fund which I'll use to make my charitable contributions from throughout retirement.  I'm doing it personally because of the radical difference between what that deduction is worth to me now vs what it will be in retirement (which may be zero), but maybe it can also be helpful for getting below some of these thresholds.