A Year-End Financial Checklist

Time to Think About Year-End Financial Strategies

As we roll into fall and the fourth quarter, now is a good time to pause and reflect on proactive ways to set up your finances for 2024. Regardless of current and future financial conditions, there are several actions you may want to take a look at before we close out 2023.

1. Consider Making Tax Moves Before Year-End
Year-end is a good time to take a look at your tax situation and assess your current and future tax liabilities. Keep in mind that the ideas below are for informational purposes only and are not a replacement for real-life advice. Make sure to consult with your tax, legal, and accounting professionals before making any year-end tax moves.

If it would help, we would be happy to coordinate with your tax team to outline your overall financial strategy.

Here are a few tax-related questions to consider at year-end:

• Does It Make Sense to Offset Gains with Losses? You may have losses from some investments in 2022. Does it make sense to sell some investments this year that have gains to offset some of those losses? Losses do not expire, so there is no rush in taking them. And remember that taxes are only one factor to consider when making investment-related decisions. Also, keep in mind that each year, you can offset up to $3,000 of your ordinary income with investment losses.
• Should You Consider a Roth IRA Conversion?¹ By rolling your retirement plan into a Roth IRA, you pay taxes upfront but may not be taxed when you take withdrawals later in life. You will be taxed on the amount of the rollover in the year you do it, which can result in a larger-than-expected tax bill. To help manage that, some roll over a portion of their investments into a Roth annually instead of all at once.
  Roth conversions do not make sense for everyone, so understanding the pros and cons is essential before making any decisions. Also, tax rules are constantly changing, and there is no guarantee that the tax landscape will remain the same in the years ahead. To qualify for the tax-free and penalty-free withdrawal of earnings, Roth IRA distributions must meet a five-year holding requirement and occur after age 59½. Tax-free and penalty-free withdrawals can also be made under certain other circumstances, such as the owner’s death. The original Roth IRA owner is not required to take minimum annual withdrawals.
• Do You Have Items of Worth You Could Donate to Charity? Not all charitable donations must come from your checking account. Consider donating real estate, cars, and other items of notable value. In this way, you can help causes that are important to you while potentially receiving a tax consideration.
• Do You Have “Green” Deductions?² You may be able to take advantage of certain tax credits for making “green” purchases in 2023. If you have made eligible home improvements that increase your energy efficiency, you could claim a tax credit worth up to $1,200. A new electric vehicle may get you credit of up to $7,500, provided you and the car meet certain requirements. Even used electric vehicle buyers may be eligible for a federal tax credit.

2. Discuss Estate Strategies at Year-End

As you gather with family around the holidays, it may be a great opportunity to review your estate strategy.

Estate and tax considerations often go hand in hand. Many times, as we discuss year-end tax management, we also make estate-related decisions.

Along with managing our client investment portfolios and retirement savings, assisting in creating an estate strategy is one of the most critical services that we provide. We can act as the quarterback of your estate team and help coordinate activities with your attorney, tax advisor, and other professionals.

3. Don’t Forget Your Health Flexible Spending Account

If you have an FSA through your employer, remember the “use it or lose it” rule. You may be able to roll over up to $610, which does not count toward the following year’s contribution limit—but only if your employer offers this choice. Some employers also provide up to two-and-a-half extra months to spend the funds. Check with your FSA plan or HR department to verify.3

If you do not plan on seeing your doctor or dentist again, there are some products that may count toward your FSA. Sunscreen, contact solutions, hearing aids, and glasses are just a few that might qualify. Some online retailers have created website pages for FSA-eligible products to help shoppers. However, be careful not to purchase too many of the same products, as the IRS does not allow FSA-funded stockpiling.

4. What to do With Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)?

If you must take an RMD from a retirement account (or from one you inherited) but do not need the money to cover living expenses, use year-end to decide what to do with the assets. Remember, the SECURE and SECURE 2.0 laws enacted over the past several years changed some of the rules surrounding RMDs, including when they must begin and the treatment of inherited qualified assets. If you have questions about what changed, we can provide some guidance, or we may have some resources that can help.

5. Use Year-End to Improve Your Financial Situation and Assess Whether You are on Track to Pursue Your Goals

As financial professionals, we want to help our clients be well positioned for the coming year. If you are not currently working with a financial professional, we would welcome the opportunity to give you our assessment of what’s ahead for 2024 and explain how we are positioning our clients for the new year and beyond.

1. BankRate.com, January 27, 2023, https://www.bankrate.com/retirement/convert-to-roth-ira/

2. USAToday.com, June 16, 2023, https://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/taxes/how-to-lower-your-taxes-next-year/

3. SHRM.org, October 18, 2022, https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/2023-fsa-contribution-cap-and-other-colas.aspx