Today’s Hack:
What financial moves should you make before the year is over? Have you talked with your financial advisor about these strategies? Let’s review the items that are most important at the end of the year.
Other Retirement Facts:
As wrap up a long year, what end of year financial tasks should be on your to-do list? What benefits might they provide if you act now?
Have you maxed out your retirement contributions? Should you? What about your HSA contributions? As you make your health benefit elections for next year, be sure to put this year to bed before the ball drops. It’s time to put your year-end planning hat on and running though the numbers find out if there are any adjustments or tweaks you need to make.
Remember the CARES Act? How does that change your typical year-end planning? Without RMDs this year, many of Phil’s clients skipped it this year. Are you planning to take IRA distributions before you’re 59 and a half without the penalty? Is this opportunity right for you? Keep in mind that this is intended for those who had a hardship this year.
Is there still time for tax-loss harvesting? Phil explains what this is and why it might be beneficial from a tax standpoint. Charitable contributions are another thing to consider before the end of the year. While the standard deduction is fairly high, remember that charitable contributions are not only a tax advantage. The benefit of charitable contributions may go well beyond tax strategies or financial reasons.
Are you going to do a Roth conversion? It’s late in the year, but might still be worth pursuing. If not this by year, is it part of your overall plan? Taxes are lower right now, so it’s likely that they will go up in the future.
What are you planning to do before the end of the year?
1:51 – Should we be maxing out retirement contributions as the year winds down?
3:17 – How does the CARES Act factor into your year-end planning?
6:43 – Did you explore tax-loss harvesting?
9:26 – Are you planning to make a charitable donation?
14:12 – What kind of purchases qualify for tax credits?
15:25 – Have you looked into a Roth conversion?
Thanks for listening! We’ll be back with another episode next week.
Resources Mentioned on this Episode:
Download the Tax Foundation’s October 2020 Report
A Quotable Moment:
“The big piece I think to really pay attention to is the capital gains tax. That step-up in basis I fully expect that to go away at some point, it’s always been too good to be true.“
-Phil Putney