A common example is contributing too much to a Roth IRA based on your income level; the ability to contribute to a Roth IRA begins to phase out at higher income levels. Contribution limits decrease once your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) rises above $105,000 for single filers and $167,000 for joint tax filers.
(A high rate of return, of course, will beat that, but you'll have to work for it.) Assume that inflation is an annual 3% and capital gains are 15%. If your target is a 15% return before inflation and taxes, you'll end up with 12.4% return. (If you pay 20% in capital gains taxes, you'll end up with 11.6% return.) A really good return on investment for an active investor is 15% annually. That's healthy.
Therefore, some reasonable rate must be established for the selection criteria (step 4) of the engineering economy study ( Figure 1â1 ). The Minimum Attractive Rate of Return (MARR) is a reasonable rate of return established for the evaluation and selection of alternatives. A project is not economically viable unless it is expected to return at least the MARR. MARR is also referred to as the hurdle rate, cutoff rate, benchmark rate, and minimum acceptable rate of return. Figure 1â12 indicates the relations between different rate of return values. In the United States, the current U.S. Treasury Bill return is sometimes used as the benchmark safe rate.