InvestmentNews Article: Tax Day is coming! Advisors offer last minute tips ahead of April 15th
April 15th is a calendar page away, so all those Tax Day procrastinators better get cracking.
While the time to file may be running out, there are some last-minute tax strategies advisors are recommending to clients to save them some money.
Janet Josey, managing director and head of tax at Quotient Wealth Partners, says the smartest last-minute move in today’s environment is not chasing deductions, but ensuring compliance with tightening rules by locking in safe harbor payments and clean, supportable positions before filing.
“The biggest mistake we’re seeing is clients treating filing as a deadline-driven exercise rather than a compliance exercise—rushing to file without complete documentation in a year where scrutiny is clearly increasing,” Josey said.
Meanwhile, David Mack, senior wealth management advisor at OpenArc, says the most critical strategy at this point is confirming that all eligible retirement account contributions have been fully completed. In his view, the most optimal time to review upcoming strategies is in the fourth quarter of the previous year to maximize charitable giving, tax loss selling and multiple other opportunities.
“The biggest mistake we see is trying to do tax planning in April for decisions that should be part of an ongoing, year round financial strategy. Taxes touch everything—from charitable goals and portfolio rebalancing to corporate benefits and retirement income planning—and those decisions are far more effective when made with a longer term lens, not at the filing deadline,” Mack said.
Elsewhere, Ronnie Jackson, partner and wealth advisor at Storen financial, reminds clients that they can make HSA contributions outside of their employer-based withholdings.
Blog by Ronnie Jackson – Partner, Wealth Advisor
Learn more about Ronnie and the rest of the Storen Financial team here.