On November 10, 2015, the Wall Street Journal published an insightful article by Bill Bischoff that discussed some year-end tax planning strategies that may be applicable to you. Included in the strategies are:
- Prepaying 2016 deductible expenses, such as your January 2016 mortgage payment, in 2015, if you expect your 2015 earnings to be greater than your 2016 earnings;
- Donating appreciated stock to charity without first selling it, which enables you to deduct the full value of the stock without the capital gains being included in your income;
- Selling stocks that have depreciated in value before donating the proceeds to charity, which enables you to claim the loss on your tax returns;
- Donating money from your retirement account directly to a charity, which allows those funds to bypass your income altogether, and which counts towards any required minimum distribution; and
- Updating your estate planning to account for any changes that have occurred and to take advantage of the current generous exemptions.
You can read the entire article by clicking here.
The Law Office of Natan Shmueli 