/// By Joe Campedelli
As the year draws to a close, now is the time to take control of your financial future. Whether you’re a high-net-worth individual or a business owner, making strategic moves before December 31 can help you optimize your wealth plan, reduce your tax burden, and set the stage for a successful year ahead.
- Tax-Efficient Investing
Before the calendar flips, consider strategies that can enhance your portfolio’s tax efficiency:
- Tax-loss harvesting: Offset capital gains by selling underperforming assets.
- Charitable giving: Make donations to qualified charities to unlock deductions.
- Roth conversions: Convert traditional IRA funds to a Roth IRA to potentially reduce future tax liabilities.*
- Retirement Contributions & Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
Maximize your retirement savings and stay compliant:
- Ensure you’ve contributed the maximum to your 401(k), IRA, or SEP accounts.
- If you’re over 73, confirm that your RMDs have been taken to avoid penalties.
- Gifting & Estate Planning
Year-end is ideal for reviewing your estate strategy:
- Use the annual gift tax exclusion—up to $19,000 per recipient in 2025—to transfer wealth tax-free.
- If you’re married, you and your spouse can elect gift splitting, allowing you to treat a gift as made half by each spouse. This effectively doubles the exclusion for one recipient, meaning you could give $38,000 total to one person in 2025 without triggering a gift tax (as long as you properly file Form 709 and make the gift-splitting election).
- Business Owner Considerations
Business owners have unique opportunities to manage income and expenses:
- Defer income to the next tax year if it benefits your tax position.
- Accelerate expenses to reduce taxable income.
- Evaluate or establish retirement plans for your business, such as a Solo 401(k) or SEP IRA.
Let’s Talk Before the Clock Runs Out
The clock is ticking—let’s make sure your wealth plan is optimized before year-end. Schedule a review today with one of our financial advisors to ensure you’re making the most of every opportunity.
* Converting an employer plan account or Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA is a taxable event. Increased taxable income
from the Roth IRA conversion may include a need for additional tax withholding or estimated tax payments, the loss
of certain tax deductions and credits, and higher taxes on Social Security benefits and higher Medicare premiums.
