KWB Strategies: Reduce Taxes and Optimize Business Investments
There are a number of perfectly valid actions you may still be able to take before the end of the year to cut your 2012 taxes and to optimize your wealth management planning.
As tax experts, we at KWB can help you decide exactly what to do, when to do it, and what not to do. Why overpay your taxes?
As you turn the calendar from November to December, you may consider 2012 as good as done. Many business owners spend the next few weeks reflecting on the last year and making plans for the upcoming year. But December should be a month of action – not merely a month of reflection and planning. December is the time to act on crucial year-end tax and wealth planning strategies and to optimize your 2012 plans.
Here are five areas to look at to optimize your 2012 tax and wealth management plans:
- Tax-loss selling. Even out accrued losses with capital gains by selling off investments that accrued losses throughout the year.
- Retirement considerations. It is crucial to be aware of contribution deadlines and application deadlines for the various retirement plans.
- Reviewing asset allocation. Specifically, reviewing allocation between non-registered investments and registered investments and ensuring that you do not have any prohibited investments.
- Contributing to Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) or Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSPs). It is important to identify whether the maximum contribution has to be made in the current year or what part of that contribution can be carried over into future years.
- Ensuring certain payments are made by December 31. Charitable contributions and other expenses need to be paid by the end of the year to claim a tax deduction for that year. But also, prepayments and accelerated purchases of business assets can be made to claim all or at least part of the tax deduction in the current year.
For more detailed information on all of these areas, please see the CIBC article 2011 Year End Tax Tips –https://www.cibc.com/ca/pdf/year-end-tax-tips-en.pdf. Or call KWB at 780-466-6204 or email us by clicking here.