As the year winds down, it’s the perfect time to review your financial plans and make any final adjustments. Small steps now can lead to a stronger financial outlook in 2025 and beyond.
Here’s a checklist to help you stay on course:
1. Review Your Investment Portfolio: Tax-Loss Harvesting
- What It Means: Tax-loss harvesting is a strategy that allows you to offset taxable gains by selling investments at a loss.
- Why It Matters: This can help reduce your taxable income, giving your portfolio an advantage going into the new year.
- Next Step: Let’s review your portfolio to see if there are opportunities to use this strategy to your advantage.
2. Maximize Charitable Giving
- What It Means: If you’ve been planning to make a charitable contribution, certain strategies can maximize your impact and provide tax benefits.
- Why It Matters: Donating cash, appreciated stocks, or using a donor-advised fund can provide significant tax savings while supporting causes that matter to you.
- Next Step: I can help you explore the options that align with both your financial goals and your charitable interests.
3. Increase Retirement Contributions
- What It Means: Boosting contributions to retirement accounts, such as your 401(k), IRA, or other retirement plans, can help you save more and potentially reduce your taxable income.
- Why It Matters: Contributions for 2024 have deadlines, and maximizing these contributions now will keep you on track for retirement. Don’t forget catch-up contributions if you’re 50 or older!
- Next Step: Let’s review where you stand with retirement contributions and see if increasing your investment is right for you.
4. Consider Roth Conversions
- What It Means: Converting funds from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA allows for tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement.
- Why It Matters: If you’re in a lower tax bracket this year, a Roth conversion might make sense to lock in those lower rates now.
- Next Step: We can discuss whether a Roth conversion aligns with your long-term plans and financial situation.
5. Review Tax-Liability Changes for 2025
- What It Means: As tax laws evolve, it’s important to anticipate how potential changes might affect your tax liability.
- Why It Matters: Adjusting your strategies now could help you prepare for possible tax rate adjustments in the coming year.
- Next Step: Let’s sit down for a quick review to see if any upcoming tax changes may impact your finances.
These steps can help ensure you’re making the most of 2024 and are prepared for a strong start in 2025. We’d be happy to discuss any of these strategies in more detail and help you decide on the best next steps.
Looking forward to wrapping up a successful year together!
