Clark Howard: Retirement Savings Contribution Credit on clarkhoward.com

One of the many new tax changes that could help your wallet in coming years is called the "Retirement Savings Contribution Credit." Basically, if you're not a big income earner and you are putting money in a retirement account, you may get a break on your taxes for the next few years.

Here's the deal: If you save money in a 401(k) or an IRA, the government will match your money as much as 50 percent. If you are single and you make $15,000 or less, you get a 50 percent match from the government of up to $1,000. If you're married, the maximum you can earn to get the credit is $50,000 combined. If you're married and your earn $30,000 combined, you get the maximum benefit. So, as you make more money, the match goes down. The credit is in effect until 2006. Here's a chart that spells it out for you:

Income for Married Couples	Income for Singles	Income for Head of Household	Credit Rate
AGI up to $30,000	AGI up to $15,000	up to $22,500	50%
$30,001 to $32,500	$15,001 to $16,250	$22,501 to $24,375	20%
$32,501 to $50,000	$16,251 to $25,000	$24,376 to $37,500	10%

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Another point to remember is that now you can put aside $4,000 a year into your Roth IRA and it will never be taxed! The Roth is the best thing we've been offered for retirement, but very few people take advantage of it. If you can afford it, set it up so that money is automatically taken out of your account for your Roth. If it's completely unrealistic to save $250 a month, then start smaller. Cutting out expensive coffee and cigarettes is one way to save money that you could turn around and put in an IRA!

Listen Live:

Clark On Demand:

Clark's Advice:

Consumer Action Center:

Quick Links:

Clark Media:

Call The Show: