Want to learn all about tax evasion? Sadly, you've come to the wrong place. We can guide you through a number of tax plans though, including the new tax-free retirement plan known as Roth 401(k)!

      The traditional 401(k) permitted you to salt away pretax dollars that boosted your nest egg at the same time your current tax bill was lowered. The tax sting came much later when you began to withdraw funds in retirement. Those distributions, which should have started by age 70.5 years, had to be taxed at your regular income-tax rate. Furthermore, the scheme required that your heirs also had to be taxed on inherited accounts.

      Now enters the spanking new Roth 401(k), a retirement-savings plan where contributions are not tax-deductible. In fact, if the account has been open for at least five years, all withdrawals after age 59.5 years are tax-free. Yes, neither you nor your heirs will ever be taxed again! How exciting is that?!

      If you have been contributing previously to Roth IRA, here is the deal: you will have to pay taxes on the income you contribute now but your withdrawals upon retirement - including all of the interest and earnings you get through Roth IRA investments - are tax-free.

      Roth IRA is not for everyone, however. Persons whose income exceeds $110,000 if they are single or $160,000 if they are married, cannot contribute to this retirement plan. The Roth 401(k), on the other hand, has no income restrictions; and neither is it a must for you to take mandatory distributions when opening a Roth 401(k) account.

      Were sure by now you know that IRAs and 401(k)s, both traditional and enhanced, are the best retirement investment-savings plans if you want your Golden Years as hassle-free as possible. Why pay more taxes when you can pay less? You can also take advantage of tax deductions available in other situations to reduce income taxes each year. Medical expenses are such an example. In your retirement years, healthcare costs may be higher than ever before. Luckily, some medical expenses are deductible. These deductible expenses include health insurance premiums, including Medicare premiums; long-term care insurance premiums; prescription drugs; nursing home care; and most other out-of-pocket heath care expenses. The deductions are subject to a special limit, though. On Schedule A of your tax return medical expenses are deductible from your income taxes only to the extent that they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI).

      You can also thank God for another tax deduction for people over fifty: when you sell your five-year-old house where you have lived for at least two years, the profit on the sale is not taxed so long as it is up to $250,000 for single taxpayers and $500,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly.

      If you are planning to run your own part-time or full-time business after retirement, there are further tax deductions for you. In this case you may deduct all the necessary expenses you incur to do business as long as the expenses are reasonable in amount. Such business expenses would include business travel, the cost of business equipment such as computers and fax machines, and outside or home offices.

      Then there are also additional tax deductions in the area of investments as well as charitable donations. The latter are deductible as itemized deductions albeit subject to special limitations. Finally, folks that are sixty-five years or older and have stopped itemizing their deductions since they are no longer paying mortgage interest, are entitled to a higher standard deduction. You get an additional $1,250 if single and an extra $1,000 (for each spouse older than 65) if married. You may also claim the higher deduction if only your spouse is older than 65 and you are filing a joint return. All this is because you have been a responsible member of society. Do you see the up side now?!