A new year brings a bunch of numbers, many of them new, for a variety of issues, such as contributing to a 401(k) retirement-savings plan, making gifts to someone other than your spouse and figuring the taxes you’ll pay under the federal Social Security program and Rhode Island’s Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program.

Following are some key figures that apply for this year:

•The maximum you may contribute to a 401(k) or other such retirement-savings plan: $16,500.

•The maximum you may contribute to a 401(k) or other such retirement-savings plan if you’re 50 or older: $22,000 (includes the new $5,500 “catch-up contribution” limit).

•The maximum you generally may contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA: $5,000.

•The maximum you generally may contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA if you’re 50 or older: $6,000 (includes “catch-up” limit of $1,000).

•As a general rule, the maximum you can give somebody (other than your spouse) before triggering federal gift-tax consequences: $13,000. (If you’re married, the limit for a couple is generally $26,000.)

•The maximum you may be able to claim, as a federal income-tax deduction, for driving your vehicle on business (known as the standard mileage rate): 55 cents a mile.

•The maximum you may claim, as a deduction, for driving your vehicle for medical or moving purposes: 24 cents a mile.

•The maximum you may claim, as a deduction, for driving your vehicle for charitable purposes: 14 cents a mile.

•In general, the maximum value of a decedent’s estate before it triggers federal estate tax: $3.5 million.

•In general, the maximum value of a decedent’s estate before it triggers Rhode Island’s estate tax: $675,000.

•The maximum amount of your wages subject to the Social Security program’s tax rate of 6.2 percent: $106,800.

•The maximum Social Security tax for an employee: $6,621.60.

•The cost-of-living increase that applies, starting this month, to more than 50 million Social Security beneficiaries nationwide, including about 200,000 in Rhode Island: 5.8 percent.

•The amount of Social Security benefits for the average retired worker: $1,153 a month.

•The amount of Social Security benefits for an aged couple, both receiving Social Security benefits: $1,876 a month.

•If you start drawing Social Security benefits early — at age 62, for example — the maximum amount of money you can earn from work before having to forfeit some of your benefits: $14,160 ($1,180 a month).

•For the year in which you reach full retirement age, the maximum amount you can earn from work before having to forfeit some of your Social Security benefits: $37,680 ($3,140 a month).

•The amount of premium most beneficiaries will pay under the Part B segment of the federal Medicare health insurance program: $96.40 a month.

•The maximum amount of wages to which Rhode Island’s TDI tax applies: $56,000.

•Maximum TDI tax rate: 1.5 percent.

•Maximum TDI tax: $840.

•The amount you must withdraw from a traditional IRA, if you’re older than 70 ½ , to avoid penalty: Nothing. (Under a new law, enacted last month, no required withdrawals — technically known as required minimum distributions — are generally due this year for owners or IRAs and other such accounts.)

TODAY’S TIP: The figures listed here today are for 2009, so don’t get confused. If you’re preparing your federal and state income-tax returns over the next few months, remember to use a separate set of figures that apply to 2008.

Questions about your money matters? Call us at (401)277-7484 and leave a message, or e-mail:

moneyline@projo.com

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