Year-End Tax Consulting the experts helps you close the year off right and prepare for tax time
If you are like most Americans and struggle to know what to do with your finances come year-end, finding a team of experts to advise and guide you is the best place to begin. Starting now can help alleviate the stress that comes with year-end pressures, while helping you plan for, and leverage, the upcoming tax year. May we suggest including our E&Y Agency tax team in your year-end plan.
Collaborating with both your tax consultant and your accountant or bookkeeper, if you have one, is the best way to make sure you are aligning and maximizing your financial and year-end needs. Taking these six easy steps will help end your year on a financially sound note, while setting you up for a seamless transition into tax time.
Create a Team: Consider connecting your financial advisor(s) with your E&Y tax preparation team. Together they can offer sound advice that could help save you money come tax time. Don’t silo your partners; they are all working to help you meet your financial and year-end goals and together can offer solutions that might not have been offered when looking at only one piece of the puzzle.
Review your 2017 Return: If you filed yourself, it’s a good idea to let the tax experts take a look at your past income tax returns… at least the last year. There may be some items that were missed or that you can still benefit from with a few simple steps. Understanding your past taxes and year-end will help your team direct your forward more confidently. Our E&Y team confidently reviews past tax returns to identify or make suggestions about possible tax break opportunities.
Delay or Defer Income: This might be an option for you depending on the type of work you do. If you are an independent consultant or business owner and believe that profits will likely be higher in 2018 than in previous years, you may want to defer revenue during the last part of the year as a way of reducing your 2018 taxable income. On the other hand, if you expect your business to be more profitable in 2019 than this year, consider accelerating cash collection before the end year-end and/or delaying deductible expenses until 2019 to lessen your taxable income next year.
Decide on Your Tax Strategy: If you received a large refund in 2017, you might want to consider revising how much income tax is withheld by your employer. If you’d rather have a bigger paycheck every two weeks instead of another potentially big refund next year, meet with your payroll manager to review your withholding allowances on your W-4 form. This is where having an expert team can help… they can guide you so that you don’t end up owing too much because of the changes you made.
Contribute to your Retirement Account: If you can, consider increasing your annual donation to your 401(k) or traditional IRA. Contributions you make to these accounts are typically deductible on your tax return, but there are some limitations and caveats of course, such as annual limits. Talking with your E&Y Tax team will allow you to create a tax strategy that maximizes your money come tax time.
Make a Charitable Donation: Doing good always goes rewarded, so keep records and receipts from all your charitable donations – monetary or otherwise. You might need to do a little extra legwork to qualify for deductions in some cases; for example, you can’t deduct a contribution of more than $250 unless you have a written acknowledgment from the organization. Our team can let you know exactly what you need before it’s too late.
If you’re overwhelmed already, don’t be. Come in and talk with us about your taxes. Let us guide you toward a tax plan that makes sense. Let’s talk!
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