5 Questions To Ask Your Financial Advisor Before Year-End

Catherine Brock  Thu, October 31, 2024  Yahoo Personal Finance

The close of the calendar year is financially significant. For one, Dec. 31 marks the end of the tax year, which affects retirement contributions and your capital gains tax liability, among other things.

Year-end also creates a natural opportunity to assess your finances to ensure you are on track to meet your goals. So, when the Halloween and holiday decorations appear in your favorite mass market retailer, consider that a reminder to connect with your financial advisor.

Use the five conversation starters below to uncover the highest-impact money moves you can make before the new year.

No. 1: Are There Opportunities To Accelerate Or Defer Income?

Regan Smith, CFP and wealth advisor at Adero Partners, recommends tapping your financial advisor for guidance on deferring or accelerating income before year-end.

Deferring income is appealing when you are in a higher tax bracket today but expect to make less in the future — say, after you retire. The deferral lowers your tax liability now and potentially lowers what you will pay in the future. A common strategy here is to participate in an employer's deferred compensation plan.

Deferred compensation plans can be structured as pensions, 401(k)s, or stock options. The key feature is that the employee can contribute current income on a pretax basis. Income taxes are paid later, usually when the funds are withdrawn in retirement.

Income acceleration may be appropriate when your taxable income is temporarily lower. Perhaps you took time off work this year but plan for a full work schedule next year. You can accelerate income with a Roth conversion, which moves pretax assets into an after-tax Roth account. You pay the taxes on the transferred amount in the current tax year so that you can take tax-free qualified withdrawals later.

No. 2: Can I Minimize My Capital Gains Tax Liability For The Year?

According to Jeff DeLarme, CFA, CFP, and president of DeLarme Wealth Management Inc., clients should ask their financial advisors to estimate their capital gains tax liability and recommend strategies to minimize it. There may be opportunities to realize offsetting losses or carry forward capital losses from prior years, for example.

Ryan Zabrowski, CFP, MSF, and senior portfolio manager at Krilogy, confirms that you can use losses to offset up to $3,000 in gains in the current year. Losses over that limit can be carried forward to use in future years.

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