Here are 12 money moves to make before 2024 comes to an end.

As we approach the end of 2024, now is the time to make any last-minute money moves. For me, many of the financial decisions I make have tax implications. But this time of year is also ideal for reviewing the past year and planning for 2025.

With that in mind, here are 12 end-of-year money moves that should make their way to the top of your checklist.

Smart Money Moves to Make Before 2024 Ends

1. Max Out Your Retirement Contributions

  • 401(k): $23,000 ($30,500 if you’re 50 or older)
    • Must be contributed by December 31, 2024.
    • Since 401(k) contributions are made through payroll deductions, check your current contribution total and adjust your payroll deductions if necessary.
    • If you have two paychecks left in 2024 and need to contribute $4,000 more to reach the limit, you’d need to set aside $2,000 per paycheck. You’ll want to confirm if your payroll system allows such large percentage deductions.
    • While you may not be able to fully max out your 401(k) this late in the year, consider increasing your contribution rate for your remaining paychecks to get as close as possible.
  • IRA: $7,000 ($8,000 if you’re 50 or older)
    • Can be contributed until Tax Day 2025 (usually April 15th).
    • Unlike 401(k)s, IRAs can be funded with a lump sum anytime until the tax deadline, giving you more flexibility.

Now is the time to check your retirement account contributions for 2024 and ensure that you’ve maxed them all out (if possible).

Workplace retirement accounts like 401(k) and 403(b) plans use payroll deductions to fund these accounts. That may limit last-minute significant contributions, but check with your retirement plan administrator. If nothing else, it’s a good time to check your contribution amounts for next year.

Even if you don’t plan to hit your 401(k) contribution limit for the year, you should at least contribute enough to take full advantage of any match your employer may offer. Failing to do so is leaving free money on the table.

If you plan to max out your traditional or Roth IRA, you have a bit more time. The IRS allows you to contribute to these funds, up to the annual limit, until the tax deadline next spring.

You can check out the current 401(k) and IRA contribution limits here or see the table below.

Account Type2024 Limit2024 Catch-up (50+)2025 Limit2025 Catch-upDeadline*
401(k)/403(b)$23,000$7,500 (50+)$23,500$7,500 (50-59, 64+), $11,250 (60-63)Dec 31, 2024
IRA (Traditional/Roth)$7,000$1,000 (50+)$7,000$1,000 (50+)Apr 15, 2025
HSA Individual$4,150$1,000 (55+)$4,300$1,000 (55+)Apr 15, 2025
HSA Family$8,300$1,000 (55+)$8,550$1,000 (55+)Apr 15, 2025
FSA$3,200N/A$3,300N/ADec 31, 2024**

*Some tax deadlines have been extended to May 1, 2025, due to Hurricane Helene.
**Some companies allow employees to spend FSA money until March 15th of the following year.

2. Check Your Taxable Investments

  • Consider Tax Loss Harvesting
    • If you have capital losses, consider selling investments to realize the losses.
    • Remember to wait 30 days before repurchasing sold investments to avoid wash sale rules.
    • Capital losses can offset realized capital gains.
    • Up to $3,000 a year in capital losses can offset ordinary income.
    • Any additional capital losses can be carried forward to future years.
  • Consider Tax Gain Harvesting
    • If you’re in the 0% capital gains tax bracket, consider selling appreciated investments and repurchasing them to reset your cost basis higher at no tax cost.
    • Wash sale rules don’t apply to gain harvesting.
    • Tax gain harvesting could save you taxes in future years when your income might be higher.

The end of the year is a good time to evaluate tax loss or gain harvesting. With tax loss harvesting, you sell investments that are at a loss. You must either wait 30 days to repurchase the investment (wash sale rule) or buy a similar but different investment.

That’s what I did a few years ago. I sold one Vanguard international fund and bought a different fund that was similar but not identical to the one I sold.

You can use the tax losses to offset gains and up to $3,000 in ordinary income. Any losses remaining can be carried forward into future years.

If you are in the 0% capital gains tax bracket, you may also consider selling some investments you hold with gains to take advantage of the 0% rate. Before doing this, however, it’s also worth considering whether Roth IRA conversions would be preferable.

Here’s a great resource from the IRS on capital gains and losses.

Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Brackets Quick Reference (2024)

Filing Status0% Capital Gains15% Capital Gains20% Capital Gains
Single$0-$47,025$47,026-$518,900Over $518,900
Married Filing Jointly$0-$94,050$94,051-$583,750Over $583,750
Head of Household$0-$63,000$63,001-$551,350Over $551,350

3. FSA (Flexible Spending Account) Planning

  • Check your FSA balance and deadline rules – employers may offer:
    • Standard December 31, 2024 deadline to use funds
    • Grace period extending into 2025 (usually until March 15th)
    • Carryover option allowing up to $640 to roll into 2025
  • If you must spend FSA money soon:
    • Schedule dental work, eye exams, or other medical appointments
    • Purchase eligible items like:
      • Prescription medications and medical supplies
      • Contact lenses and prescription glasses
      • Over-the-counter medications
      • First aid supplies
      • Sunscreen and other preventive care items

We had an FSA account for medical expenses for years. Deciding how much to contribute to the FSA felt like a crapshoot because these accounts are a “use it or lose it” kind of thing. If you don’t spend each year’s money on qualifying expenses, you lose it.

The tax benefits, however, were too good to pass up. FSAs are tax-free accounts for dependent (child) care and medical expenses such as deductibles and medicine. You can contribute up to a certain limit each year through your paycheck (for 2024, this limit will be $3,200), using the funds to pay for eligible expenses with pre-tax dollars.

Now is the time to check which type of FSA you have, the balance in your account, and how much you have to spend to avoid losing your hard-earned cash. If you have a short period to use that money, here are a few ideas to get you started.

Keep in mind that employers can offer their employees a rollover of up to $640 a year. If this is the case, you can keep up to that limit in your FSA after year’s end without losing the money. You’ll still be able to contribute up to the maximum limit for next year, allowing your account to grow even more. Other employers can offer their employees a grace period of up to 2.5 months, allowing them a few extra weeks to spend that money on qualifying expenses.

You can also use this time to plan your next year’s FSA contributions. Did you run out of money in your account in 2024? Do you expect medical expenses next year that you didn’t have in years past? Were you stuck with extra savings that you had to scramble to spend before losing the funds?

If so, adjust your FSA contributions for next year accordingly.

4. HSA (Health Savings Account) Opportunities

  • Eligibility requirements for 2024 contributions:
    • Must have a qualifying high-deductible health plan (HDHP)
    • Minimum deductible: $1,600 (individual) or $3,200 (family)
    • Cannot have other health coverage or be enrolled in Medicare
  • 2024 contribution limits:
    • $4,150 for individual coverage (plus $1,000 if 55 or older)
    • $8,300 for family coverage (plus $1,000 if 55 or older)
    • Can contribute until Tax Day 2025 for 2024 tax year
  • Tax advantages:
    • Contributions reduce your taxable income
    • Investment growth is tax-free
    • Withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free
    • Unlike FSAs, funds never expire and remain yours indefinitely

We’ve had HSAs for a number of years now. We max out the contributions each year and are saving the money for healthcare expenses in retirement. I just made our contributions for this year.

Whether you save or spend your contributions each year, the tax advantages of an HSA are too good to pass up for those with a high-deductible healthcare plan. So check the contributions you’ve made this year and make any adjustments necessary to take full advantage of these accounts.

5. Tax Deductions

  • Accelerate Deductions: Consider prepaying property taxes or making charitable donations before year-end.
  • Bunch Itemized Deductions: If you’re close to the standard deduction threshold ($14,600 single, $29,200 married filing jointly), consider consolidating deductible expenses into 2024.

Given the limits on the deductibility of state and local taxes (SALT), we make charitable contributions to our donor advised fund every other year. We itemize that year and use our standard deduction for the other year.

If you plan to take the standard deduction, there’s no end-of-year itemized tax deduction moves you need to make. If you’ll itemize, however, now is the time to make any last minute moves to increase your deductions.

6. Estate and Gift Planning

  • Use Annual Gift Tax Exclusion: Give up to $18,000 (in 2024; $19,000 in 2025) per person without gift tax implications.
  • Fund 529 Plans: Consider making contributions to benefit from state tax deductions where applicable and tax-free growth.

For those giving to others, consider both 529 contributions for education expenses and the annual gift tax exclusion. The exclusion is per person, so a couple could give up to $36,000 in 2024 without having to file IRS Form 709. Also keep in mind that direct payment of educational and healthcare expenses may be excluded from gift tax.

7. Business Owners’ Considerations

  • Purchase Necessary Equipment: Take advantage of Section 179 expensing for business equipment.
  • Accelerate Expenses/Defer Income: Consider paying outstanding bills, buying supplies, or prepaying certain expenses in 2024 if a higher tax bracket is expected. If appropriate, delay sending late December invoices until January.
  • Review Retirement Plan Options: Consider setting up or contributing to a SEP IRA or Solo 401(k).

If your business needs to purchase equipment, Section 179 of the tax code can provide significant tax savings. This provision allows you to deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment in the year it’s placed in service rather than depreciating it over several years. For me, this may mean buying new computers for my business this month. I’m still undecided, but Apple’s Pro Display XDR is very nice.

Retirement plans also offer valuable tax benefits for small business owners. In the past we’ve had a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA, and today we have a solo 401(k). Both allow you to save significant amounts toward retirement while reducing your current income tax.

The point is that as a small business owner, you have the ability to manage your tax liability to a point. Now is the time to make sure you’ve taken full advantage of this before the end of the year.

8. Review Your Tax Withholdings

While getting a check from the IRS each spring is nice, it’s not so nice to know that you also gave Uncle Sam an interest-free loan for the year. If you are getting a significant tax return each year, it’s time to adjust your withholdings.

Ideally, you file your taxes each spring, owing or owed just a few dollars. This means your employer withheld the right amount of money from each paycheck. You wouldn’t be subject to penalties from the IRS, and the government isn’t holding your money interest-free for the entire year.

You can do this by looking at tax rates for the next year, your expected income and credits, and any planned deductions.

Then, once you’ve changed your tax withholding and are keeping more of your own money throughout the year, put it to work for you. Invest that extra cash, use it to pay down debt, or build your savings.

9. Consider Roth Conversions

  • Roth Conversions: Consider whether it’s advantageous to convert some traditional retirement account funds into a Roth retirement account.
  • Backdoor Roth: If your income prevents you from contributing to a Roth IRA, consider a backdoor Roth.

Roth conversions allow us to decide when we’ll pay taxes on our traditional retirement account distributions. Backdoor Roths, a special type of Roth conversion, allows those with higher incomes to get money into a Roth IRA. I consider both each year. This year, my wife and I will both be contributing to Roth IRAs via a Backdoor Roth.

10. Check Your RMDs and QCDs

  • Take Required Minimum Distributions: If you are subject to RMDs, make sure you’ve taken these distributions to avoid IRS penalties.
  • Make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD): If you’re 70½ or older and are subject to RMDs, consider making charitable donations directly from your IRA.

For those at RMD age, it’s important to take sufficient distributions to avoid IRS penalties. For those who are subject to RMDs, it’s worth considering making a qualified charitable distribution. Remember that those 70.5 years or older can make QCDs from their IRA, although for us, it won’t make sense to do so until we reach RMD age. In 2025 the QCD limit is $105,000, and the limit is now inflation adjusted each year.

11. Review Your Investments

  • Asset Allocation: Check your mix of stocks and bonds, and rebalance as necessary.
  • Fees: Double-check the fees you are paying and reduce them if at all possible.
  • Beneficiaries: Make sure you have beneficiaries listed on all of your accounts.

Now is a good time to take a few minutes to check you investments. For me, this means three things. First, I check our asset allocation. I already know that our stock allocation has drifted higher due to the market highs, so I’ll be rebalancing to bring that back down to our plan.

Second, make sure you know the fees you are paying and keep them to a minimum. For us this means using low-cost index funds. If you are paying an advisor, make sure you know the cost and reduce it if at all possible.

Finally, I always check to make sure we have beneficiaries listed on all of our accounts.

12. Review 2024 Financial Goals

  • Budget: What it was in 2024, whether your family held to it, methods of managing the budget (and if they worked), and what the budget should be for 2025.
  • Savings rates: How much did you hope to save, how much did you save, and how does that need to change next year?
  • Cutting costs: Whether your family is overpaying for certain expenses (like utilities or cell phones and cable) and how to trim those down.
  • Debt: Where you were at the beginning of the year, what your goals were for stopping/paying off debt in 2024, whether those goals were met, and any new goals you’d like to set for 2025.
  • Big-spending plans: Whether any large purchases are on the horizon and changes you need to make to prepare (such as getting credit scores for a new mortgage or saving for a down payment).

At the end of every year I review our income and spending over the past 12 months. Because we use a budgeting app, it’s easy to do and just takes a few minutes. What I’m looking at, beyond how much we made and spend, is how close we were to our plan and how our spending changed from the previous year. One area of focus is our recurring bills. I almost always find something we are paying for that we no longer need or use.

Your review may include your plans to get out of debt, buy a home, and save for retirement. The key is to take stock of where you are, how far you’ve come, and where you are headed.

Bottom Line

A brand new year is a great time for all sorts of resolutions and new starts. By taking the time at the end of this year to get your finances in order–analyzing how you did in 2024 and making plans to do even better in 2025–you’ll ensure that 2025 is the best financial year possible.

Author

  • Rob Berger is the founder of Dough Roller and the Dough Roller Money Podcast. A former securities law attorney and Forbes deputy editor, Rob is the author of the book Retire Before Mom and Dad. He educates independent investors on his YouTube channel and at RobBerger.com.

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