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Maximize Your 2025 Tax Strategy Before Year-End

As we approach the end of the year and the holiday season, it’s essential to consider strategic tax planning opportunities that can enhance your financial position for the upcoming 2025 tax filing. Acting now, before distractions increase, can offer significant advantages. Here’s a look at key considerations for your year-end tax strategy:

Consider Filing Even If Not Required - If your income for 2025 falls below the threshold requiring a tax return, take advantage of tax-free income opportunities. You might sell appreciated stock without triggering taxes or take a penalty-free IRA distribution if eligible. Keep in mind, filing can also unlock substantial refundable tax credits that you would otherwise miss.

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Capitalize on Low Income - For those with unusually low income this year, consider converting a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. This could mean paying fewer taxes on the conversion. Additionally, it’s an ideal time to convert depreciated stocks in retirement accounts to a Roth IRA to capitalize on future growth without tax implications.

Maximize Education Credits - If your children are in college, assess the American Opportunity or Lifetime Learning credits. If your 2025 expenses fall short of maximizing these credits, prepaying tuition for early 2026 can enhance your 2025 credit claims, benefiting especially first-time students.

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Leveraging Home Sale Exclusions - Selling a home in 2025? You can exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for joint filers) if you meet ownership and occupancy tests. For those not fully meeting these criteria, a favorable partial exclusion might still apply under certain conditions, such as job relocation or health issues.

Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings - Review your employer health flexible spending account contributions and adjust for 2026 if needed. If you became eligible late in the year, a full Health Savings Account contribution is still possible for 2025, offering a tax-saving route even if eligibility was last-minute.

Optimize Retirement Contributions - Do not forfeit the chance to bolster your retirement savings through year-end contributions. If you have access to employer-matched contributions, maximize these contributions to make the most of pre-tax opportunities.

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Tapping Into Catch-Up Contributions - Individuals aged 60 to 64 can exploit increased catch-up contribution limits beginning in 2025, enabling substantial investments into 401(k), 403(b), or SIMPLE plans to enhance retirement fund buffers against inflation.

Planning for Bonuses and RMDs - If anticipating a year-end bonus, discuss with your employer the possibility of deferring it to 2026. For those who need to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), planning now helps prevent falling into dual-taxation for 2025 and 2026.

Managing Capital Gains and Losses - Evaluate your portfolio for under-performing stocks to offset capital gains. If your income is significantly low, utilize the zero long-term capital gains rate to capitalize on stock sales with minimal tax impact, staying aware of the wash sale rule implications.

Prepaying Taxes and Charitable Planning - With the increased SALT deduction limit under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, prepaying state and property taxes by year-end could be tax beneficial. Amplify your charitable contributions in 2025 to overcome the looming 2026 charitable deduction floor.

Utilizing IRA Charitable Distributions - At 70½ or older, direct transfers from IRAs to charities can satisfy RMDs while minimizing taxable income, with potential side benefits on taxed Social Security and income-based tax credits.

Maximizing Medical Deductions - If close to the 7.5% AGI threshold for medical expenses, paying outstanding medical bills can boost your itemized deductions. Anticipate next year’s medical needs and consider making upfront payments to maximize this year's tax benefits.

If any of these strategies resonate with your financial situation or if you need further assistance tailoring a plan specific to your circumstances, feel free to reach out to Smart Tax Financial, LLC, led by Michael Asta, for professional guidance.

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