Can you believe it, we’re only a month away from the end of the year! For many of us, we’re pretty busy with our normal activities (work, school, etc.) and then we have the holidays to prepare for too. It seems like there’s no time for anything else and yet there may be some very important financial matters to take care of before December 31st.
You may be familiar with the many financial considerations that could stand a little time before year’s end. For example, do you have an employer-sponsored Flexible Spending Account? Such accounts often have rules about using the balance or losing it. Then there are discretionary medical expenditures. If you’ve already reached your deductible limits, December might be the perfect time to take care of some medical needs. Naturally, there’s an important budgeting exercise for December. Plan and stick to a holiday spending budget. Do your investments need rebalancing? The market has done very well this year and naturally some things have done better than others. Why not check your asset-allocation plan? Speaking of the market, you may want to sell some of your investments that have lost money to help lower your tax bill.
Here’s one end-of-year action you may want to consider. It’s got to do with your property taxes. You may have heard that congress is in the process of trying to pass some tax-reform legislation. One provision in the proposed law eliminates the deduction for property taxes. So, here’s what I recommend that you do. Keep your eye on this bill and see if it becomes law before the end of the year. If it does, consider prepaying your 2018 property taxes in 2017. Since deductions are applied to the year in which they are paid (rather than the year that they are due), you can still claim your 2018 property-tax payment even if the law goes into effect. Since the 2018 property taxes are not yet posted online and since taxes will increase 15-25% in 2018, you should visit the Larimer County Treasurer’s Office (200 W. Oak St #2100) to request a firm estimate. Be sure to take your checkbook!
We’d be happy to discuss any end-of-year financial questions (or any other questions) you may have in a no-charge, no-obligation initial meeting. Just visit our website or give us a call at 970.419.8212 to learn more.
This article is for informational purposes only. This website does not provide tax or investment advice, nor is it an offer or solicitation of any kind to buy or sell any investment products. Please consult your tax or investment advisor for specific advice.