If you have 401Ks or IRAs, you have to figure out how to minimize your required distributions to keep you in the lower tax bracket.
It is not that difficult.
The tax brackets cover a lot of territory.
“If you have 401Ks or IRAs, you have to figure out how to minimize your required distributions to keep you in the lower tax bracket.”
indeed ... i make “whatif” copies of the current year’s H&R Block returns and then juggle possible withdrawal amounts for the next year to stay inside the 12% bracket ...
just came up with a new wrinkle too: withdraw at the end of the year instead of the beginning so any dividend/interest remains tax deferred ... that can add up to good tax savings when you consider that short-term Fed bond funds like schwab’s SNOXX yields 5% per annum ...
next year, though, i face minimum withdrawal amounts due to age ...
btw, the other advantage to withdrawing at the end of the year is to withhold for next year’s tax to avoid the small withholding penalty, yet lose only 4 months of deferred interest on the withheld amount during the first quarter of the next year ...