ASFA 2023 Year-End Planning Guide

November 27, 2023

All Season Financial Advisors

Year-End Planning Checklist for Financial Success

As we approach the end of another year, it’s crucial to reflect on your financial goals and make strategic decisions to optimize your financial situation. Our Year-End Planning Checklist is designed to help you navigate through important considerations, taking into account the income, contributions, deduction limits, charitable giving advice, and year-end retirement plan deadlines for December 31st,  2023.  With input from our capable team of wealth management partners, we offer this year end planning checklist to help make your complicated financial life easy.  Get your highlighter out, print and post it on the fridge, and pass this on to your friends and family.   As always, please feel free to reach out to our team with any questions.

  1. Review Your Financial Goals:
    • Assess your progress and financial goals via your E-Money planning portal.
    • Identify any changes in your personal or financial situation that may impact your goals.
    • Be prepared to communicate these to us at your next meeting. Write them down now!
  1. Investment Portfolio Analysis:
    • Conduct a comprehensive review of your investment portfolio with our team.
    • Discuss any significant life changes that may impact your risk tolerance and investment strategy.
  1. Tax Planning:
    • Review your tax situation to identify potential opportunities. We can offer a great deal of customized advice via our AI-driven tax planning software (Holistiplan), if you are willing to share previous years’ tax returns.
    • Let us help you evaluate capital loss carry forwards and potential tax-loss harvesting opportunities to offset gains before year end.
    • Consider maximizing contributions to tax-advantaged accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, keeping in mind the updated contribution limits for 2023.
      • 401(k): $22,500 (plus $7,500 catch-up contribution for those aged 50 and older)
      • IRA (Traditional and Roth): $6,500 (plus $1,000 catch-up contribution for those aged 50 and older)
      • SIMPLE IRA & SARSEP: $15,500 (plus $3,500 over age 49 catch-up)
    • Make your HSA (Health Savings Account) contributions by year end: $3,850 for individuals and $7,750 for families (plus $1,000 catch-up contribution for those aged 55 and older)
  1. Charitable Giving
    • Consider the impact of your charitable contributions on your tax situation.
    • Review the updated charitable giving limits for 2023 and explore tax-efficient giving strategies.
      • Cash Contributions: Up to 60% of adjusted gross income (AGI)
      • Non-Cash Contributions: Generally, up to 30% of AGI
      • Explore gifting appreciated securities to maximize tax benefits.
  • If over 70 and ½ use the qualified charitable distribution rule to make charitable contributions up to $100,000 per year from your IRA to a charity without paying tax on the withdrawal. An additional benefit applies if the taxpayer is 73 or over in that it even qualifies as a required minimum distribution.
  • Advice:
      • Consider itemizing your deductions and batching multiple years of giving. Contribute the lump sum to a donor-advised fund in order to exceed your annual standard deduction ($27,700 for MFJ and $13,850 for Single filers).
      • Document and keep records of all charitable contributions for tax purposes.
  1. Retirement Plan Deadlines:
    • Retirement Plan Contribution Deadlines for 2023:
      • 401(k) and 403(b): Employee contributions must be made by December 31, 2023.
      • Solo 401(k): Employee contributions must be made by December 31, 2023. Employer contributions can be made until the tax filing deadline, including extensions.
      • *Traditional IRA and Roth IRA: Contributions can be made up to April 15, 2024, for the 2023 tax year.
  1. Educational Funding:
      • If you have children or grandchildren, review and contribute to 529 education savings accounts within limits before December 31, 2023. States offer various income tax deductions for contributions to 529 education savings accounts

Remember, your team at All Season Financial Advisors is here to guide you through these considerations and help you make informed decisions.

We wish you a prosperous and financially healthy new year!

Your Team at All Season Financial

Sam Jones           Registered Investment Advisor

Kristi Sullivan    Certified Financial Planner

Dustin Nelson    Certified Public Accountant

Scott Colby          Certified Public Accountant

Dan Mong          Estate Attorney

Merry Balson     Estate Attorney