ERISA qualified retirement plans (i.e. Profit Sharing/401(k)/Cash Balance-Defined Benefit) are really the only “IRS Blessed” tax shelters still available to the common person. The Alternative Minimum Tax has taken away most deductions except for mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and charitable deductions.

A business owner, law partner, or medical professional can “shelter” an extraordinary amount of taxable income by funding an ERISA approved plan for their business entity. Of course, if one has employees, they must receive a certain level of contribution. Thus, it is always a questions of does the benefit to the owner(s) outweigh the costs to the “rank and file.”