A: No, teams most often go over the tax during years when they're already operating above the salary cap and either using additional exceptions (none of which the Heat have left at their disposal for 2014-15) or make trades to take on additional salary (which the Heat cannot do until Dec. 15, when contracts signed this offseason can be traded). The Heat could become a tax team as soon as the 2015-16 season, or earlier should they trade one of their big-ticket players for either a bigger-ticket player or multiple players this season (which seems unlikely considering the magnitude of Bosh's contract and Dwyane Wade's no-trade clause). It's not a matter of if the Heat are willing to pay the tax for the upcoming season, it's the reality that under cap rules they essentially can't lift their 2014-15 payroll to such levels.