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CONTRIBUTORS

Bill Cass, CFP®, CPWA®

Director of Wealth Planning,
Franklin Templeton

It’s important to assess personal finances before the end of the year to determine if action is needed. This may include reviewing portfolios, funding retirement accounts and making gifts to family members or charities.

Review this checklist for strategies to minimize taxes and other potential benefits.

It can help uncover opportunities to improve your financial plan for the coming year.

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Here are a few highlights from each area:

Keep investments on track

  • Adjust or rebalance portfolios to make sure asset allocation reflects current risk profile
  • Be aware of mutual fund distribution dates before making purchases

Identify opportunities to minimize taxes

  • Estimate your projected income for the year to determine your marginal tax bracket
  • If a low tax bracket applies, consider accelerating income before the end of the year; if a high tax bracket applies, consider deferring income into next year if possible
  • Be aware of important tax-related income thresholds (e.g. income limits applying to the 3.8% net investment income tax, higher Medicare premiums and taxation of Social Security benefits)

Focus on retirement planning priorities

  • Maximize retirement savings including catch-up contributions if age 50 or older
  • Remember to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) if age 73 or older
  • If concerned about higher taxes in the future, consider a Roth IRA conversion

Understand options for charitable giving

  • Make charitable gifts before year-end to lower taxable income (if itemizing deductions)
  • If age 70½ donate to charities from your IRA using a qualified charitable distribution (QCD)
  • Lump several years of charitable gifts into one year to itemize deductions on the tax return

Create a legacy for family members

  • Utilize the annual gift tax exclusion before year end ($18,000 per individual or $36,000 for married couples electing to split gifts)
  • Make sure important documents (e.g., wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives) are in place and up to date
  • Make gifts into 529 college savings plans

Consult with an advisor

It is important to discuss tax, charitable giving, retirement and estate planning strategies with a tax and financial advisor to determine if they are appropriate for your overall financial plan.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

All investments involve risks, including possible loss of principal.

Any information, statement or opinion set forth herein is general in nature, is not directed to or based on the financial situation or needs of any particular investor, and does not constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results, or a recommendation with respect to any particular security or investment strategy or type of retirement account. Investors seeking financial advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in any securities or investment strategies should consult their financial professional.

Franklin Templeton, its affiliated companies, and its employees are not in the business of providing tax or legal advice to taxpayers. These materials and any tax-related statements are not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used or relied upon, by any such taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties or complying with any applicable tax laws or regulations. Tax-related statements, if any, may have been written in connection with the “promotion or marketing” of the transaction(s) or matter(s) addressed by these materials, to the extent allowed by applicable law. Any such taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayer’s particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION

This material is intended to be of general interest only and should not be construed as individual investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell or hold any security or to adopt any investment strategy. It does not constitute legal or tax advice. This material may not be reproduced, distributed or published without prior written permission from Franklin Templeton.

The views expressed are those of the investment manager and the comments, opinions and analyses are rendered as at publication date and may change without notice. The underlying assumptions and these views are subject to change based on market and other conditions and may differ from other portfolio managers or of the firm as a whole. The information provided in this material is not intended as a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any country, region or market. There is no assurance that any prediction, projection or forecast on the economy, stock market, bond market or the economic trends of the markets will be realized. The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount that you invested. Past performance is not necessarily indicative nor a guarantee of future performance. All investments involve risks, including possible loss of principal.

Any research and analysis contained in this material has been procured by Franklin Templeton for its own purposes and may be acted upon in that connection and, as such, is provided to you incidentally. Data from third party sources may have been used in the preparation of this material and Franklin Templeton ("FT") has not independently verified, validated or audited such data.  Although information has been obtained from sources that Franklin Templeton believes to be reliable, no guarantee can be given as to its accuracy and such information may be incomplete or condensed and may be subject to change at any time without notice. The mention of any individual securities should neither constitute nor be construed as a recommendation to purchase, hold or sell any securities, and the information provided regarding such individual securities (if any) is not a sufficient basis upon which to make an investment decision. FT accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss arising from use of this information and reliance upon the comments, opinions and analyses in the material is at the sole discretion of the user.

Franklin Templeton has environmental, social and governance (ESG) capabilities; however, not all strategies or products for a strategy consider “ESG” as part of their investment process.

Products, services and information may not be available in all jurisdictions and are offered outside the U.S. by other FT affiliates and/or their distributors as local laws and regulation permits. Please consult your own financial professional or Franklin Templeton institutional contact for further information on availability of products and services in your jurisdiction.

Issued in the U.S. by Franklin Templeton, One Franklin Parkway, San Mateo, California 94403-1906, (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236, franklintempleton.com. Investments are not FDIC insured; may lose value; and are not bank guaranteed.

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