Partnering for Success: Year-End Planning with Your Advisor
Finish the year with clarity, confidence, and a plan aligned to your goals.
Year-end planning is an opportunity to align your financial strategy, optimize tax efficiency, and position your portfolio for long-term success. At Berkeley Capital Management, we believe thoughtful preparation and disciplined execution lays the groundwork for stronger long-term outcomes.
Below is a streamlined checklist, rooted in Berkeley’s disciplined, fundamentals-based approach, to help you navigate the essentials before December 31.
Year-End Planning Checklist
1. Understand Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
- If you’re 73 or older, take your RMD by December 31 to avoid penalties.
- If you turned 73 this year, you can delay your first RMD April 1 of next year.
- Consider Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) to satisfy RMDs tax-efficiently while supporting causes you care about.
- If you inherited a retirement account, work with your advisor to understand your RMD obligations, which vary based on your relationship to the original owner.
2. Review Your Investment Portfolio
- Revisit your asset allocation and risk tolerance to ensure they still reflect your goals.
- Ask whether tax-loss harvesting could help offset gains or reduce taxable income.
- Look for opportunities to rebalance tax-efficiently or improve asset location.
- Confirm you have the liquidity needed for upcoming expenses in the new year.
3. Optimize Your Retirement Strategy
- Maximize employer plan deferrals by December 31 and/or IRA contributions by April 15 to reduce taxable income.
- If age 50+, consider catch-up contributions; special catch-up rules may apply at ages 60–63.
- Reassess whether Roth or pre-tax contributions make more sense next year based on income and tax changes.
- Review your income plan strategy and withdrawal plan for the upcoming year.
4. Consider Roth Conversion Opportunities
- Explore whether a Roth conversion could reduce future RMDs or improve tax efficiency.
- Take any RMDs before converting.
- Plan for the tax bill associated with conversions.
- Review deductions that may help offset the tax impact of a conversion.
5. Income & Tax Threshold Planning
- Work with your advisor to determine whether to accelerate or defer income based on your expected tax bracket.
- Review stock options, capital gains, and above-the-line deductions.
- Evaluate next year’s income needs and potential tax bracket.
- Coordinate estimated payments and withholdings to avoid surprises.
6. Charitable Giving
- Make year-end donations by December 31 to qualify for deductions.
- Discuss whether bunched giving or donor-advised funds might amplify your impact.
- If age 70½+, consider using QCDs from IRAs, even if you don’t have an RMD.
7. Estate & Annual Gifting
- You may give up to the annual exclusion amount per person without triggering gift tax.
- Review your estate plan documents: wills, POAs, beneficiaries, and medical directives.
- Track your lifetime estate and gift tax exclusions and evaluate whether additional planning is needed.
8. Health Care Planning
- Maximize HSA contributions to leverage triple tax benefits: deductible contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified expenses.
- Use remaining Flexible Spending Account (FSA funds) before forfeiture.
- Assess Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidy eligibility if using Marketplace coverage.
- For Medicare, review your premium notice (mailed in November), as next year’s premiums may increase.
9. Children’s Education and Retirement Planning
- Contribute to 529 plans or Coverdell ESAs by December 31 to capture available tax benefits.
- Consider setting up custodial Roth IRAs for children with earned income to jumpstart their retirement savings.
- If your child earned income this year, explore opening a custodial Roth IRA to jumpstart their retirement savings.
10. Other Year-End Tasks
- Notify your advisor of major life events such as marriage, divorce, birth, relocation, or career changes.
- Review your risk management strategy: Increase insurance coverage if needed and add liability or long-term care insurance where appropriate.
- Anticipate large purchases or wealth events in the coming year and adjust your budget accordingly.
- Establish a relationship with a tax professional ahead of tax season to streamline your filing process.
- Plan for Upcoming Age-Based Milestones that may trigger planning requirements.
Moving Forward
While this checklist covers many meaningful year-end considerations, every situation is unique. Berkeley brings a disciplined, research-grounded approach to financial planning to help you identify opportunities, reduce complexity, and stay aligned with what matters most to you.
A Practical Next Step
If you’d like help reviewing your year-end plan or want to explore opportunities tailored to your financial goals, Berkeley is here as a partner and resource. Our team can walk you through these year-end considerations, evaluate opportunities, and ensure your plan reflects both your goals and the evolving financial landscape.
Planning with intention today helps create clarity and confidence for tomorrow.