LaDonna Sinning - The Journal Record
Dec 12, 2022
As we sing our way through this holiday season, don’t forget to make your list and check it twice. To that end, here are 12 tasks to complete before New Year’s Day.
As we sing our way through this holiday season, don’t forget to make your list and check it twice. To that end, below are 12 tasks to complete before New Year’s Day.
Button down your fraud controls on all credit and debit cards. The holiday season is also the season of increased scams.
If you haven’t already, it’s not too late to set a budget for holiday spending.
Visit with your tax adviser and explore ways to lower your taxes. Generally speaking, you can do a lot more for tax planning purposes if you get those plans and actions in place prior to the end of the year.
Review your fourth-quarter estimated tax payments to confirm they still make sense. While you likely had those calculated with your tax return, things can change during the year, and avoiding surprises when your return is prepared is always a great Christmas gift to yourself.
If you plan to gift cash or significant assets to your children for Christmas or as estate planning, check where you are at with gift taxes (annual exclusion is $16,000 per person for 2022) and determine if the gift is best made before or after the new year.
Review your investment portfolio and consider any moves that may need to be made. You may want to capture losses for tax reduction purposes or rebalance your holdings.
Consider any changes in your family or financial situation that might affect your estate planning and, if needed, go ahead and make the appointment with your attorney to discuss needed modifications.
Review your listed beneficiaries on retirement accounts and insurance policies and make any needed adjustments.
Consider the adequacy of your insurance policies. Given inflation of the last couple of years, you may find that you need to increase your coverage.
Contribute to your kids’ college funds and your own retirement accounts.
Set two to three financial goals for 2023 that are a stretch for you, but achievable, and make a plan to track your progress.
Enjoy your New Year’s Eve knowing that you have wrapped up your 2022 financial year in an organized fashion.
LaDonna Sinning, CPA, CFE, is a partner at Arledge, an Oklahoma-based public accounting firm.