2019 Tax Season Year-End Tax Planning Ideas

2019 Tax Season is Right Around the Corner:

We have compiled a list of Five Tax Planning tips for Year-End

1. Review Capital Gains/Losses to minimize tax exposure and possibly harvest some gains to offset losses
2. Maximize Charitable Contribution Deductions-with the change in the Standard Deduction, many Individual Taxpayers are bunching charitable contributions in one year to increase their itemized deductions above the standard deduction amount.  Additionally taxpayers 70 1/12 and older can direct their RMD annual distribution directly to a charity of their choice and avoid claiming this amount in Income for that tax year.
3. Review Your Estate Plan-Since the increase in the Estate and Gift Tax Exemption Amount to $11.4 million , this allows wealthy individuals to gift additional monies to donee individuals.  Also these individuals should update their estate planning documents to ensure that the new limits are referenced.
4. IRA Conversions to Roth IRA-Benefits to doing these types of conversions is potential tax-free inheritance to children and reduce future required minimum distributions.
5. Maximize the Use of Tax-Advantaged Savings Vehicles-If possible, always try to increase the amount of salary deferrals into 403b and 401k accounts.  Also HSA’s can be a great way to help pay for and save for qualified medical expenses on a tax-advantaged basis.