how much should i contribute to my 403b?

Question

i want to contribute enough to move down a tax bracket....

what should i put in from $43,000/yr (i don't have any other pre-tax deductions to help.)

Answer 1

Assuming you are single you will need to get your taxable income below $31,850 for 2007 in order to move from the 25% bracket to the 15% bracket.
After your personal exemption and the standard deduction you will need to put approximately $3,000 into the 403b plan to get there.

Answer 2

You do realize that "moving down a bracket" only affects the taxes on the part of your income that is over the bracket limit listed in the answer above, and has no effect on the taxes on any of your income below $31,800. The 403b contribution though will allow you to defer taxes on the entire amount contributed, a much larger benefit than just the tax bracket move.

Since you don't say what your filing status is, you can't get an answer here. If your filing status is single, then waggy has given you a reasonable number.

Contributing to a 403b is a good idea anyway, aside from getting a current tax benefit.