Q. I am 62 and last year (taxable 2011) withdrew my Thrift Savings Plan in a lump sum. Taxes of 20 percent were taken out. But on computing taxes this year, I was a bit surprised with the resulting tax bite. Adding in the lump sum doubled my income and pushed me into the 28 percent bracket. I know we no longer have income averaging, but is there anything I might have missed that might smooth out this one-year spike in income?
A. Not that I’m immediately aware of, but you should run the question past your tax preparer.
