Year-End Tax Moves That Could Save You Money

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The end of the year is approaching and between visiting friends and family and celebrating the holidays, your taxes may be the last thing on your mind. However, putting off tax preparation until later could be a costly mistake. While tax season doesn't start until mid-January, if you want to affect the return you file in 2017, you'll need to make some tax moves before the end of 2016.

You might make this a yearly tradition – while there may be slight alterations in the rules or numbers from one year to the next, many of the fundamentals behind tax-saving advice remain the same.

Sell losing investments and offset capital gains or income. Do you have property, stocks or other investments that have dropped in value and you're considering offloading? If you sell the investments before the end of the year, you can use the lost value to offset capital gains (profits from capital assets). Excess losses can offset up to $3,000 from ordinary taxable income and be rolled over to following years.

Optimize your charitable contributions. Many people make an annual tradition of donating their time and money to support charitable causes. It's a noble thing to do and could come with a tax benefit. The value of your donation to a qualified charitable organization, minus the value of anything you receive in return, could offset your taxable income.

Charitable contributions are deductible if you itemize deductions. However, most taxpayers find it best to take the standard deduction – $12,600 for married people filing jointly, $9,300 for heads of households and $6,300 for single or married people filing separately for the 2016 tax year. If it's best for you to take the standard deduction for 2016 but you think you may itemize your deductions next year, consider holding off until the new year to make the donations.