Now is a good time to get started on some important year-end financial tasks. Wouldn’t you rather enjoy the holidays with family and friends than scramble to meet
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Here’s a list of 10 smart money moves to consider—some that need to be addressed by December 31 and others that are an important part of a year-end financial check-in.
Most of them can be accomplished quickly, but the benefits can last a lifetime.
1. Size up your portfolio.
This year’s stock market swings may have changed your mix of stocks and bonds. You may need to bring your portfolio back in line with a diversified mix that is appropriate
for your situation (read Viewpoints: “The pros’ guide to diversification”). For help analyzing your overall portfolio, choosing a target asset mix, and
rebalancing your
portfolio to bring it in line with that target mix, use Portfolio Review (login required).
2. See if you may be able to put any losses to work.
Ten things to do before year end
Tax-loss harvesting might sound complicated, but the principle is pretty simple. Offset your realized taxable gains on your investments (capital gains) with losses (capital
losses). That means selling stocks, bonds, and mutual funds that have lost value to help reduce taxes on gains from winning investments. (Of course, you don’t want to
undermine your long-term investing goals by selling an investment just for tax purposes.) Tax-loss harvesting needs to be done by December 31. For more information, read
Viewpoints: "Harvesting losses: One benefit of a correction."
3. Give to a charity or your family.
Give to others. Charitable donations are an effective way to reduce your taxable income when you itemize on your tax returns. If you’ve been meaning to make a donation
and want to lower your tax bill for 2015, be sure to make your contributions by December 31. Now is also a good time to clean out a closet or basement and donate clothing
and household goods. Remember to get receipts for non-cash donations.
Give to family members. You are able to give up to $14,000 a year to as many individuals as you choose without paying gift taxes, which helps reduce the amount of your
estate. You can give cash, stocks, bonds, and portions of real estate. You must do this by December 31. Read Viewpoints: “Getting serious about your giving?”
4. Bundle your tax write-offs.
One way to maximize the value of tax deductions is to bunch two years’ worth of itemized deductions into a single year, especially if you expect your income to be higher.
For example, if you have unreimbursed work expenses that you incurred early in the year, you might be able to pull next year’s expenses into this year and double up your
2015 deduction.
Consider making an extra mortgage payment or prepay taxes (state and real estate) to allow additional deductions. For tax-deduction tips, read Viewpoints: “Tips for
deducting more at tax time.”
5. Max and match: Reduce your taxable income and save too.
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Even if you contribute regularly to your 401(k) or 403(b), take a few minutes to see whether you can make an additional contribution before the end of the year—especially
if you aren’t on track to contribute the full amount your employer matches. The maximum you can contribute in pretax dollars for 2015 is $18,000, or $24,000 if you’re
age 50 or older, and contributions must be made by December 31, 2015.
You may be able to reduce your taxable income1 by making a contribution to an IRA or spousal IRA. While you can make an IRA contribution for 2015 by April 18, 2016 (the
tax-filing deadline for 2016 due to a federal holiday), doing so now will give your money more potential to grow in a tax-advantaged way. The maximum contribution is
$5,500 per person ($6,500 if you are age 50 or older) or 100% of employment compensation, whichever is less. For age-based tips on retirement savings, read Viewpoints:
“
Retirement roadmap: rules of the road.”
6. Use the money in your flexible spending account.
There are two types of flexible spending accounts that allow you to set aside pretax money and then reimburse yourself, with calendar-year “use-it-or-lose-it” deadlines:
health care and dependent care. The U.S. Treasury Department has relaxed the rules a bit this year. Employers can allow participants to carry over up to $500 in unused
funds into next year, so make sure your balance doesn’t exceed that. Some plans allow you to submit 2015 claims until March 2016—check with your employer.
7. Do a financial reality check.
Understanding how you are saving and spending can be a valuable step to helping put your financial house in order. You don’t necessarily need to manage every penny.
Consider our guidelines: Not more than 50% of your take-home pay should go to essential expenses, 15% of your pretax income to retirement savings, and 5% of your
take-home pay to short-term savings. Use our saving and spending checkup to see where you stand.
8. Check the beneficiaries on financial accounts.
When reviewing your investments, also make sure you have designated a beneficiary for each account. This can be as important as writing a will, but it isn’t as complex. It is
especially important if there have been changes in your life, such as a birth, a death, or a change in marital status.
One important point to keep in mind is that retirement accounts pass directly to named beneficiaries, rather than becoming part of your estate. This can provide significant
tax advantages for your heirs.
If you are married, keep in mind that most employer-sponsored retirement plans automatically designate your spouse as the beneficiary unless you name another
beneficiary and your spouse has consented in writing. For more details, read Viewpoints: “Five ways to protect what’s yours.”
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9. Go for tax-free growth: Consider converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.
Who wouldn’t want the tax-free growth potential and withdrawals in retirement that a Roth IRA offers?2 The problem is, not everyone can contribute to a Roth IRA because
of income limits. But you may be able to convert existing money in a traditional IRA or other retirement savings account into a Roth IRA. Because pretax contributions and
gains in a traditional IRA are generally considered taxable income when you convert, later in the year is a good time to take a look. That's because you have more
information about your taxable income for the year, which may enable you to convert a more targeted amount to ensure that the income from the conversion doesn’t bump
you into a
higher income tax bracket.
If you don’t have an existing traditional IRA, you may want to open one, make a nondeductible contribution, and convert it to a Roth IRA before it accumulates any earnings.
That way it would not be considered taxable income. See if a conversion may make sense with our Roth Conversion Evaluator.
10. If you’re age 70½ or older: Take your minimum required distribution.
Beginning when you turn 70½, IRS regulations generally require you to withdraw a minimum amount of money each year from your tax-deferred retirement accounts, like
traditional IRAs and 401(k) plans, or pay penalties of up to 50% of your minimum required distribution (MRD).3
If you reached 70½ this year, you have until April 1, 2016, to take your 2015 distribution, but it still might be a good idea to do so before the end of this year. Why?
Because if you wait, you’ll have to take two distributions in one year (the grace period applies only to your first distribution, so your 2016 MRD will have to be taken before
December 31 of next year). That could push you into a higher tax bracket for 2016.
