The November program, led by Libby Edwards-Allbaugh, Owner of the Tax Ladies, and Jason Statuta, Managing Director of Petrichor Wealth, gave the audience an opportunity to learn strategies to assist with keeping their taxes in check.  Year-end tax and investment planning is essential to keeping more of what people earn.  Tax planning involves analyzing your financial situation to ensure that all elements work together to enable you to pay the lowest taxes possible, avoid penalties and enhance your overall financial health.

The tax planning ideas that Libby and Jason focused on were understanding 2024 tax laws- both now and in the future, maximizing retirement plan contributions for those still in the workplace or self-employed; managing your Required Minimum Distributions (RMD’s) for those over the age of 70 1/2  through the use of Qualified charitable distributions (QCD’s); considering greater charitable giving in higher income years or using Donor Advised Funds (DAF) for highly appreciated assets when there is a windfall within a tax year; tax loss harvesting to capture the losses which can offset some or all capital gains in your taxable portfolios or the use of direct indexing funds- an investment vehicle that can provide enhanced tax benefits for some investors.

For individuals and small business owners, the advantages are clear.  Reducing their tax burden, integrating tax strategies with broader financial goals and minimizing the risk of audits and penalties are all ways that integrated tax planning benefits the well prepared taxpayer.