Give Yourself a Gift
How Retirees Use the Holidays to Reduce Taxes
Cut Your Losses Do you have losing stocks in your portfolio? Consider selling them before the end of the year. Minimizing losses can help lower your taxes. Manage Your Tax Bracket If there’s a gap between the bracket you’re in now and the next tax bracket, selling a capital gain or converting a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA may work to your advantage. Reach out to us to learn if there are moves you can make to take advantage of converting before the end of the year and lowering your tax liability for many years to come. Remember the Season of Giving Everyone knows donating to charities can reduce your income tax bill, but are you aware that you can also give to individuals? You can give up to $15,000 per individual — to as many individuals as you want — without affecting the unified credit or getting hit with a gift tax; however, you cannot reduce your income tax bill by gifting to individuals. Need some advice for cutting your taxes before the year is over? Give Wolf Retirement Navigation a call at 904-232-8760. Let the professionals review your accounts to see how you can save some money in the new year. Happy Savings!
Beyond budgeting for gifts, financial planning often takes a back seat during the holiday season. But these last few weeks of the year are crucial if you want to reduce your income taxes payable in 2018. Here are a few ways current and future retirees can reduce their taxes around the holidays. Contribute the Maximum to Your Retirement Plans You can enjoy a pretty sizable tax deduction by contributing to certain qualified retirement plan programs if you are still working. These are the programs funded by pretax dollars, such as your 401(k) and traditional IRA accounts. Give yourself a break by letting your money grow in these accounts without being taxed until you need to pull it out. Strategize Your Withdrawals Did you have a low-income year? It might be wise to make more withdrawals from your tax-deferred retirement plans and convert to a tax-free Roth IRA. When it comes to accounts like your 401(k) or traditional IRA, your distributions are taxed based on your marginal tax rate for that year. If you’re in the 10-percent tax bracket, a $10,000 distribution from your 401(k) will cost you $1,000 in taxes. However, if you had a higher income year and are in the 24-percent tax bracket, you’ll pay $2,400 in taxes for that same distribution.
SUDOKU
Looking for an easy holiday roast that still feels elegant enough for the occasion? Look no further than this delicious prime rib flavored with garlic, thyme, and red wine.
INGREDIENTS
• 1 bone-in prime rib (6–7 pounds) • 8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced • 2 cups red wine
• 4 cups beef stock • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste pan and roast prime rib for 2 hours, until medium-rare. 5. To make au jus, place roasting pan with drippings from roast over 2 burners on high. Add wine and scrape pan as liquid reduces. Add beef stock and cook until reduced by half. Finally, sprinkle in thyme. 6. Slice roast and serve topped with au jus.
DIRECTIONS
1. 30 minutes before cooking, remove roast from fridge and let sit until it reaches room temperature. 2. Heat oven to 350 F. 3. Make small slits in prime rib and stuff with slices of garlic. Liberally season with salt and pepper. 4. Place a rack inside a roasting
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