Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
tax shelter
References
Britannica AI Icon

tax shelter

economics
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

A tax shelter is a strategy, investment, or provision within tax codes designed to reduce an individual's or entity's tax liability. These shelters aim to lower the amount of tax owed by utilizing legal means. The concept of tax shelters has been in use since at least the mid-1930s.12

While the term "tax shelter" itself refers broadly to any method of reducing taxes, the concept of "qualified" in personal finance relates to accounts, plans, or expenses that meet specific government rules, often set by the Internal Revenue Service, to receive tax breaks or advantages. Examples include qualified retirement plans like 401(k)s, tax-advantaged medical plans such as HSAs, and college savings plans like 529 plans.3

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
3 Britannica Sources
  1. tax shelter
  2. qualified (personal finance)
  3. Merriam-Webster's Words of the Week - Oct. 29

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.