Planning for Year-End

As the end of the year approaches, we remind you of certain year-end transactions that we stand ready to help you execute…as conveniently as possible, and, on time:

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans for the Self-employed – If you have self-employment income (from consulting services or corporate or non-profit boards), you are eligible to contribute to your own retirement plan. If you haven’t already established a specific retirement plan, we can help you decide which of the several plan choices is appropriate for you. Most of these plans must be established no later than December 31 even if funding can occur later.

Roth IRA Conversion – If your adjusted gross income is less than $100,000 (whether for single individuals or married couples filing jointly), you can convert part or all of your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA by December 31. Taxes must be paid on the conversion but subsequent earnings and distributions are tax-free in a Roth IRA. We can help you determine whether this opportunity is available to you and, if so, to decide whether it’s right for you.

Catch-up 401(k) and Deductible IRA Contributions – Individuals over age 50 and those who turn 50 during 2005 are eligible to make “catch-up” contributions to retirement plans. The 401(k) catch-up contribution is $4,000 and the traditional and Roth IRA catch-up contribution is $500. If you meet the eligibility requirements and haven’t already made the 401(k) catch-up contribution, please contact your 401(k) plan administrator to make the election as soon possible so the extra contribution is made before the year-end. IRA base and catch-up contributions can be made as late as April 15, 2006.

Required Retirement Plan Distributions – Clients who turn 70 ½ this calendar year are required by law to take a first minimum distribution from their retirement accounts. The first required minimum distribution must be taken no later than April 1 of the year following the calendar year in which one turns 70 ½, so, “first timers” could wait until April 1 of next year, 2006. Still, it is almost always best to get this done by December 31 of the current year so that you are not required to take two distributions in the following year. If you are in this situation, we have been or will be in contact with you soon to coordinate distributions.

Income Taxes

Year-end State Tax Payments – As part of our routine practice, we will forward year-to-date tax information to your tax preparer in early December. We will also be in touch with your tax preparer about any other issues that should be taken into consideration when preparing tax projections and determining your optimal tax payment schedule. In addition, we will forward tax information for the full year 2005 to your tax preparer in February 2006. Please remember to forward any 1099s, K-1s, and other tax records you receive to your tax preparer. If you changed your tax preparer since last year and/or have not already provided us with your 2005 tax preparer’s contact information, please do so as quickly as you can.

Charitable Contributions – Appreciated long-term capital gain assets, such as stock or mutual fund shares you’ve owned for more than a year, are ideal assets to contribute to charities because you can deduct these assets at fair market value without paying tax on the appreciation. If you have charitable intentions but have not yet identified the charity you wish to benefit, you can donate securities to a “donor advised” charitable gift fund, like ones available at community foundations or custodians like Fidelity or Schwab. By doing this well before the absolute December 31 deadline (December 19th would be a good practical deadline), you can secure your charitable deduction for this year and direct the gift at a later, more convenient time.

Donations of cash remain sub-optimal for most clients despite the recent KETRA, 2005 legislation.

Gifts to Family Members – The current tax law allows each person to make gifts of $11,000 per recipient, each year, without gift tax. Thus, a married couple can give up to $22,000 per recipient per year, free of tax. If a recipient is in a very low income tax bracket, it may make sense to give highly appreciated investments rather than cash since the recipient can sell the investment and may only pay 5% capital gain tax. However, a cash gift is still the best if you want to maximize the benefits to the recipient. Many clients with young children or grandchildren may be able to give up to $110,000 (for a married couple) to fund Section 529 Education Funding Plans. These gifts use the same $11,000 per person, per recipient annual gift tax exclusion but permit a 5-year “bunching” to get to a much greater initial amount.

We look forward to working with you to plan for and then execute these transactions as early as possible.

Young Kim

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