401K讨论

Remember that tax in US is marginal.  For example, if the tax is 10% for first $10,000, the tax could be 40% for the first $10,000 over $100,000.  If you don't put your money away, you end up paying much more tax up front.  Therefore people use all sorts of strategy to pay less up-front tax: putting money into 401K / IRA / Health Saving Plan, allocating about 30% of household income on mortgage, donation to charity, etc.   My employer contributes $12,000 to my 401K plan (no matching is needed) but I still contribute $15,500 of my own money to 401K.  The return of my 401K from last year is 16%.  If you use after-tax money to invest, you need to get 26% gain for the same return.  The benefits of 401K are obvious.  However, if you do not have a safety net of savings, you may want to build up your emergency fund first.

thanks! 如果要在退休之前拿出来，就要交罚金。不知要交多少? 有谁知道这个罚金的政策?

2. 还有一个问题，我现在是OPT， OPT期间什么tax可以免的? 退tax时要不要找一个tax consultant 比较好一点?

You better consult with the administrator of your 401K plan for thewithdrawal policy.  Simply give them a call.

If you are P.R.China citizen, I think you will enjoy some tax benefits from the tax treaty between U.S. and PRC.  For example, you do not need to pay social security and/or Medicare.  You better talk with your Human Resource department about that.  Probably you do not need to talk with a tax consultant if your HR department has handled such cases before.