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I would like to be contacted regarding my year end tax planning

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Itemized Deductions

Prepay January's mortgage payment

Prepay California tax, if any is due

Prepay Real Property taxes, if any is due

Make charitable contributions; in either cash or property; if I have appreciated property, have I considered the tax effects of giving away said property to charity instead of selling it.

Minimum tax considerations; tax benefits of prepaying California tax or Property tax may not be available for those who are in minimum position.

    Many optionees exercised ISOs in 2000 and continue to hold such ISO-stock. It would be wise for         some optionees to sell the stock on or before December 29, 2000 if the FMV of the stock is substantially less than the FMV was on the date of ISO exercise. 

Pension and Retirement Plans

SEP or other SE plan if self-employed.

Qualified plans (for businesses); must be established before the end of this year.

Have we considered various ways in which to structure the manner and timing of income and expenses so that more income is pushed into the following year and more expenses are deducted in the current year.

Have I considered converting to a Roth IRA.

Am I turning 70 1/2 this year and do I have an IRA.  If so, planning the timing and amount of required distributions has been done.

I have considered setting up a retirement plan.

I have considered the effect of the timing of deductions; paying expenses before the year end.

I have considered the effect of deferring billing into the following year in order to push the payment of taxes on that income into the next year.

Stock and Bonds

Have I analyzed my stock portfolio to determine whether or not any investments should be sold before the end of the year.  Stocks with unrealized losses can be disposed of before the end of the year to take advantage of the loss before the end of the year.

If any stocks or bonds are to be sold, have I considered the holding periods involved which would produce favorable tax results.

Legal fees and other big investment expenses

Have I incurred substantial legal or other miscellaneous itemized deduction expenses which would be subject to the alternative minimum tax and thus should be paid in the following year.

If I have settled a lawsuit which produces taxable income, have I considered the timing of the payment of legal fees.

Have I spoken with my Estate Planning Attorney about things I could or should do before the end of the year.

Have I considered whether or not I have taken advantage of the annual gift tax exclusion.

I am in current litigation, where settling before or after the year end would produce different results. I have also considered the tax consequences of the settlement agreement.

Divorce and Filing status

If I am currently in divorce proceeding, have I considered what steps should be taken on or before the end of the year to obtain the preferred filing status.  I have considered whether or not to enter into a separation agreement to obtain favorable tax status.

If I am paying alimony will making any payments before the end of the year reduce my taxes.

If I am currently in divorce proceedings, have I considered the effect of filing separately. Filing separately can have an adverse effect on your tax liability.  Spouses filing joint returns are generally open to joint and several liability for any tax, interest, or penalty arising from their return.  Filing separately can avoid problems of being exposed to your future ex-spouses tax liabilities.

Have I considered the separate liability election (new Provision of RRA '98) for divorced or legally separated taxpayers.

If I have a business, should I incorporate on or before the end of the year. Administrative savings can be incurred by timing the incorporation with the first of the year.  The cost of incorporation will be less if done on or after January 1, 2000.

Have we considered the timing of pay-outs from retirement plans.

Persons who are non-corporate calendar years should consider the allocation of income between 1999 and 2000.

Have I considered the timing of year end distributions and salary payments.

Estimated Tax Payments and Withholding

Is an underpayment penalty looming ?  If you owe tax in April of 2001, you may be facing an underpayment penalty.  You generally cannot avoid the estimated tax penalty by back-loading your tax due by making a year end estimated tax payment.  However, withholding is divided equally among the required installment dates.  Thus, the extra withholding late in the year can overcome prior underpayments.

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