It’s been a wild year, and with that you may have some opportunities to take advantage of. With year-end approaching, we wanted to go over a few strategies that you can implement into your financial plans. 

Tax Planning

The Inflation Reduction Act was just recently signed. This piece of legislation should not negatively impact most households. However, there are some tax credits that have been extended, mostly related to green energy and electric vehicle purchases.

The biggest negative impact that you should be aware of is that some of the credits that were implemented or adjusted in 2021 to help families through the pandemic have expired. This list includes the Child Tax Credit, the Child and Dependent Care Credit, and the Earned Income Tax Credit. To avoid any big surprises, go through your 2021 return and determine which credits will no longer be applicable in 2022.

As we move into other year-end strategies, it will be important to have a good understanding of your income levels. Review your year-to-date income and project out the rest of the year. This will give you a good sense of which tax bracket you fall into. Along with that, some strategies such as IRA contributions have income limits and phase outs. Therefore, you’ll need to review to determine which ones you’re eligible for.

Capital Gains

In addition to those specific tax planning strategies, year-end is always a great time to check in on the other aspects of your financial plan. Understanding where your portfolio is from a capital gains perspective, opportunities for Roth conversions, and confirming whether or not you’re maximizing your retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401ks is a great idea each year. In addition to optimizing these specific strategies it’s always a great idea to revisit your comprehensive financial plan as well, especially during challenging market environments. This will help you keep a long-term perspective and provide peace of mind, knowing that your plan is designed to weather the storm.

Rebalancing

The first half of 2022 was the worst start to a year since 1970 for portfolios. Nobody likes seeing their portfolio drop by a significant amount. However, this does happen from time to time, and it’s important to stay disciplined to your investment strategy and take advantage of the current market conditions. Review your investment allocations and rebalance your portfolio. Some sectors of the market have outperformed others.

With that being said, it’s also a great time to rebalance to your target allocations. Implementing this strategy and staying up-to-date is not an easy task for you do-it-yourselfers, but it’s an important strategy, as this will add return over time. Lastly, tax loss harvesting can be a great way to reduce your current tax bill.

Charitable Intentions

If you have not already done so, revisit your estate planning and charitable intentions. While this has been a tough year for the markets, you may still have long term positions or concentrated stock with significant gains that present an opportunity to maximize your charitable gifts. Ensuring that your charitable plan and estate plan are appropriately coordinated will help you take advantage of the right strategies for you, whether that be donor-advised funds or a qualified charitable distribution from your IRA that will help ensure you have a continuing legacy of charitable giving.

We hope these tips will help you as you prepare for the end of 2022!

For informational purposes only. Not intended as tax advice, investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Information prepared from third-party sources is believed to be reliable though its accuracy is not guaranteed. Opinions expressed in this commentary reflect subjective judgments of the author based on conditions at the time of writing and are subject to change without notice. For more information about Wealth Dimensions, including our Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, please visit https://adviserinfo.sec.gov or contact us at 513-554-6000. Please be advised that this material is not intended as legal or tax advice. Accordingly, any tax information provided in this material is not intended and cannot be used by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.