Still grappling with the best option for me...
a) My employer has a 401(k) available but does
not match any contributions.
b) My income is too high for a Roth (boo-hoo)
I currently have $20k in a taxable VTSAX account and another $6k in (as far as I know) non-taxable bonds through VBMFX. My expenses are such that I could meet any IRA contribution limit should I choose one, then continue to invest in these other accounts.
So what are my real options here, as I see it?
- Contribute to the 401(k) for tax savings
- Don't contribute to the 401(k) but do contribute to a traditional IRA. From what I can tell, if I dont contribute to the 401(k) then traditional IRA contributions are tax deductible.
- Contribute to both the 401(k) and a traditional IRA. In this case, none of my deductions to the IRA are tax deductible, but interim growth is tax-free. That's better than nothing at least, but could get complicated on April 15...
Now another option is the Roth backdoor, i.e. rolling over a traditional IRA into a Roth to bypass the income limit. Is this still viable for 2013? If I do it for tax year 2012, then will I be able to contribute freely to the Roth in 2013, or do I have to keep rolling over traditional IRAs into Roths?
What do you guys think about my options? What did I miss?
I am, by the way, in the 28% bracket and am of the opinion that taxes will probably be higher when I retire, so I would like to get them out of the way now, if possible.