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Maximize Your Tax Savings: Year-End Planning Tips

As the year draws to a close, it's time to focus on your financial health and seize any last-minute opportunities for tax optimization. Whether you're wrapping up your busy work schedule or planning festive family gatherings, there's still time to make strategic moves that can enhance your tax benefits for the 2025 filing season. Here are some key tax planning strategies to consider:

Consider Tax-Free Income - For individuals who do not need to file a tax return for 2025, there is an opportunity to generate additional tax-free income. This includes selling appreciated stocks or taking tax-free IRA distributions if conditions allow. However, remember that by not filing, you might miss out on refundable tax credits.

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Low Income Opportunities - If your income is notably low this year, consider converting your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA to benefit from lower tax rates. Monitor your retirement account stocks for opportunities to convert during value declines.

Optimize Educational Credits - When managing college expenses, make the most of the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning credits by prepaying 2026 tuition that begins in the early months of the year, allowing you to maximize credits available for 2025.

Home Sale Tax Implications - Gain from the sale of your primary residence may be exempt up to certain limits if ownership and occupancy tests are met, with partial exclusions available for moves due to employment or health changes.

Health Account Contributions - For those with health flexible spending accounts or health savings accounts, adjust your contributions to ensure full utilization and potentially make catch-up contributions.

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Retirement Savings Maximization - Don’t miss the chance to boost your retirement accounts by making the maximum allowable contributions before year-end. For those eligible for employer matching, ensure you're contributing enough to capitalize on this benefit.

Catch-Up Contributions - Individuals aged 60 to 64 can significantly increase their retirement savings through enhanced catch-up contribution limits starting in 2025, providing an excellent opportunity for retirement planning.

Bonuses and RMDs - When expecting a year-end bonus, consider deferring it to the next year if beneficial. If you have to take a required minimum distribution (RMD), understand your deadlines and potential tax impacts, especially in light of new inheritance rules.

Investment Portfolio Adjustments - Evaluate your portfolio for underperforming stocks, and consider selling them to offset capital gains, keeping in mind wash sale rules to ensure tax benefits.

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Tax Deduction Strategies - Explore prepaying your state income and property taxes to increase deductions, and if planning charitable donations, consider consolidating your donations in 2025 to maximize tax benefits ahead of proposed changes in 2026.

Medical, Gift, and Disaster Planning - Monitor medical expenses to ensure deductibility beyond current thresholds, make the most of the annual gift tax exclusion before year's end, and consider disaster loss claims for impactful tax relief.

With the holidays fast approaching, a proactive tax strategy is pivotal in ensuring financial well-being. Leverage these insights to position yourself for a favorable financial outcome in the new year. For personalized advice, our office is just a call away, ready to support you in navigating these opportunities.

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