What Is a Section 125 Deduction and How Does It Work?
Most people skim their pay stub, shrug, and move on. Numbers in, numbers out. Fair enough. But buried in there is something that actually affects how much of your paycheck you get to keep. Not in theory. In real dollars. The Section 125 deduction is one of those things that sounds complicated, gets explained badly, and then is ignored. Which is a shame, because it’s doing quiet work behind the scenes. And once you get it, really get it, it’s hard to unsee. So What a Section 125 Deduction Actually Is A Section 125 deduction comes from an IRS rule that allows certain benefits to be paid for with pre-tax money. That’s it. No mystery. Instead of paying taxes first and then buying benefits, the cost comes out before taxes are calculated. Less taxable income. Less tax taken. More of your own money stays yours. It’s often wrapped into what employers call a “cafeteria plan,” which is a weird name, but the idea is choice. You pick the benefits you want from what’s offered. Nothing fancy. Just ...