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Your Year-End Financial Checklist BY DAVE RAO A SPECTS OF YOUR FINANCIAL LIFE TO RE VIE W A S THE YE AR DR AWS TO A CLOSE THE END OF the year can help remind us of last-minute things we need to address and the goals we want to pursue. To that end, here are some aspects of your finan- cial life to think about as this year leads into the next. Keep in mind, this article is for infor- mationa l pur poses on ly a nd is not a replacement for real-life advice. Contact a tax or legal professional before modifying your tax strategy. The ideas presented are not intended to provide specific advice. YOUR INVESTMENTS Set a goal to review your investments with your financial professional. You'll want to come away from the meeting with an understanding of your portfolio positions. Look over your portfolio positions and revisit your asset allocation. Remember, asset allocation and diversification are approaches to help manage investment risk. They do not g ua ra ntee a ga inst investment loss. YOUR RETIREMENT STRATEGY You may want to consider contributing the maximum to your retirement accounts. It's also a good idea to review any retire- ment accounts you may have through your work. This is also a great time to decide on making catch-up contributions if you are eligible. YOUR TAX SITUATION It's a good idea to consider checking in with your tax or legal professional before the year ends, especially if you have questions about an expense or deduction from this year. Also, it may be a good idea to review any sales of property as well as both real- ized and unrealized losses and gains. Look back at last year's loss carryforwards. If you've sold securities, gather up cost-basis information. As always, bringing all this information to your financial professional is a smart move. 1 YOUR CHARITABLE GIFTING GOALS Plan charitable contributions or contri- butions to education accounts and make any desired cash gifts to family members. The a nnua l federa l gif t ta x exclusion a llows you to give away up to $15,000 in 2021, meaning you can gift as much as $15,000 to as many individua ls as you like this yea r. Such gif ts do not count against the lifetime estate tax exemption a mount, as long as they stay beneath the a nnua l federa l g if t ta x exclusion threshold. Besides outright gif ts, you can explore creating and funding trusts on beha lf of your family. The end of the yea r is a lso a good time to review a ny trusts you have in place. Using a trust involves a complex set of ta x rules and reg u lations. Before mov ing for wa rd with a trust, consider working with a professiona l who is fa milia r with the rules and regulations. 1, 2 YOUR LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE The end of the year is an excellent time to double-check that your policies and beneficiaries are up to date. Don't forget to review premium costs and beneficiaries and think about whether your insurance needs have changed. Several factors could impact the cost and availability of life insurance, such as age, health, and the type of insurance purchased, as well as the amount purchased. Life insurance policies have expenses, including mor- ta lity and other charges. If a policy is surrendered prematurely, you may pay surrender charges, which could have income ta x implications. You should consider determining whether you are insurable before implementing a strategy involving life insurance. Finally, don't forget that any guarantees associated with a policy are dependent on the ability of the issuing insurance company to continue making claim payments. LIFE EVENTS Here are some questions to ask yourself when evaluating any large life changes in the last year: Did you happen to get married or divorced this year? Did you move or change jobs? Did you buy a home or business? Was there a new addition to your family this year? Did you receive an inheritance or a gift? All these circum- stances can have a financial impact on your life as well as the way you invest and plan for retirement and wind down your career or business. n Dave B. Rao is the founder of R AO Wealth Partners. He focuses his practice on helping to advise physicians, corporate executives and business owners on their unique financial situations. For more info, visit raowp.com Citations 1. turbotax.intuit.com, October 16, 2021 2. irs.gov, October 14, 2021 Our firm does not render legal or tax advice. This article was written for our firm and provided cour tesy of MarketingP ro. Investments in securities and insurance products are NOT FDIC-INSU R ED/ NOT B A N K- G UA R A N T E E D/ M AY LOSE VA LU E . Rao Wealth Partners is an independent firm. Securities and advisory services offered through Nations Financial Group, Inc.(NFGI), 4000 River Ridge Drive NE, Cedar Rapids, IA, member FINR A/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. Client assets are held at First Clearing, LLC (a wholly owned Wells Fargo subsidiary). 1 4❱❱❱❱❱ F I N A N C I A L C H E C K- U P

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