Commentary: Good old Benjamin Franklin said, "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." While science (and Google) is trying to figure out how to help us live forever, there is one thing we can bank on right now: the IRS wants to pay people to save in order to ensure dignity and comfort in retirement for all people in America.
Current and potential employees (no matter the age) are looking for two of the most popular workplace benefits – health and retirement. On the other hand, small business owners are looking for great employees to move their business forward, while increasing profits. Attracting and retaining talent is always a challenge, but you can have that cake and save on taxes too.
Pay it forward and get it back
The government offers the following tax incentives to you for starting an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or 401(k). Here are the benefits to you as an employer:
- Tax deductibility of your retirement savings;
- Tax deferred growth of your savings;
- Tax deductions for the expense of having and starting a retirement savings plan;
Tax credits up to $500 a year for three years for your business when you get a plan in place.
You are eligible to take advantage of this $500 tax credit if your business had 100 or fewer employees that have made a minimum of $5,000 in this tax year. Even if you are a self-employed party of one, you can have a retirement plan and take advantage of this credit.
There is no better time to kick off your retirement plan than today – saving now for your future while reaping the benefits today on your taxes is an all-around win.
Chad Parks is founder and CEO of Ubiquity Retirement + Savings, formerly The Online 401(k), and executive producer of
