<prompt> Human: Here is the long and the short of it:I was promoted a couple times in the last couple years and my wife picked up a job in her field that she loves, but this puts us at 200k a year income. Suddenly, we have lost our rental property deductions, we make too much for traditional IRA accounts, and the max I can put in my 401k plan is about 3.5 because I am a highly compensated employee. Basically, all of the tax deductions we had before going over 160k I think that is the ceiling we have lost. We have no debt besides mortgages, and I have done the math to decide that paying them off is not a great investment compared to the market, since they are all under 3 APR fixed. Our children have mostly fully funded college funds.Now, before anyone judges us harshly we have worked VERY hard to get where we are. We live very modestly and were you my neighbor, you would not think we make what we make -- of course we are not miserly or slobs, either.So, in short, what should we do? Taxes this year really hurt! Up to now I have been able to research and find information on the web, etc. but now I feel like I am kinda frozen and cant figure out what to do or how to invest without taxes killing us. In spite of the income we have built up to, I feel like I am failing my family somehow.Oh, and yes, I DO want to retire ASAP, not only for personal reasons, but because I sincerely want the younger people of the world to get a shot at what we have. We are late 30s, btw. Please, be nice in your answers!thanks!  <response>: What are you asking? How to lower your tax liability? As a general rule which Im sure youve realized, as your income goes up, the amount of tax breaks you get goes down. Thats just reality.If youve talked to an accountant and are taking full advantage of your existing tax deductions and credit, theres nothing anyone here can do for you. And that accountant, having all your information, would be in a much better position than us to determine if you have any additional ways to lower your tax liability.But honestly, its only going to get worse. Youre not even in the highest tax bracket yet. we make too much for traditional IRA accountsYou dont make too much for one. You make too much to deduct one. If you dont have a traditional IRA already, consider a backdoor Roth. While it wont lower your current tax liability, it will lower your future liability.Though generally, dont worry if youre forced to invest in taxable accounts. Yes, gains are taxed as they should be. But if you hold investments at least a year, so they qualify as long-term capital gains, they are taxed at a very reasonable rate. 