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MONEY MATTERS
Review financials at year end
As the year closes out, it is always a great idea and time to review financials and retirement plans and meet with an advisor. This month, I’m giving you a checklist of some things to consider as the year comes to a close:
Tax loss harvesting
Check to make sure that you have been as tax efficient as possible during the year with taxable investment accounts. There could be opportunities to tax loss harvest some of your losses, realizing the loss and rotating that money into another stock. On an after-tax basis in taxable accounts, this strategy has shown through many independent studies to add aftertax return. The higher your marginal bracket, the better it works.
MONEY MATTERS
If you have the ability to max out your workplace retirement plan and health savings accounts and haven’t done it yet, look into maxing it out.
Roth Conversions
Depending on your income for the year and advice from your financial advisor or accountant, year-end Roth conversions could offer long term value.
Qualified Charitable Distributions
If you are 70 years and six months old or older, you have the ability to donate money from your IRA to a qualifying charity, within certain limits. This can help with AGI, which impacts social security taxes and IRMAA.
Gifting
Depending on your estate size, year end is a great time to complete nontaxable gifting. Currently, this amount is $15,000 per person and can help with certain estate planning cases.
Estate Planning Documents
I recommend all clients looking over their estate plans once per year. Make sure that nothing of significance has changed that could affect the estate plan. Keep in mind that an estate plan can mean trust documents, will, power of attorney and advanced directive for health care.
Insurance Review
I recommend reviewing all insurance once a year including: life insurance, disability insurance, along with property and casualty policies. These are all basic planning strategies that should be looked at yearly. Please consult your tax advisor and/or financial advisor on all these matters, and get their advice as to what makes sense for your specific needs and long-term goals. ~Lee Williams offers products and services using the following business names: Lee Williams – insurance and financial services | Ameritas Lee Williams Investment Company, LLC (AIC), Member FINRA/SIPC – securities and investments | The Ascent Group, LLC – investment advisory services. AIC is not affiliated with Lee Williams or The Ascent Group, LLC. Representatives do not provide tax or legal advice. Please consult with your tax advisor or attorney regarding your situation. Trades cannot be communicated to your representative by email, fax or regular mail, as the transaction may not be executed on a timely basis. Please contact your representative by telephone to request trades and do not use email to send confidential information or time-sensitive instructions. Performance quoted does not guarantee future results. Please refer to your regular periodic statement for complete information.
