Year-End Tax Planning Strategies You Need to Know Before December 31

Tax Tuesday Webinar | Molen & Associates

What you do before December 31 can have a major impact on how much you pay in taxes — and once the year ends, many planning opportunities are gone.

In this Tax Tuesday webinar, Clark Boyd and Kathy Stump of Molen & Associates walk through the most important year-end tax planning strategies for individuals, families, and business owners who want to take control of their tax bill and start the new year ahead of the game.

Whether you’re self-employed, a small business owner, or planning for retirement, this session explains what actions must be taken before year-end — and which mistakes to avoid.

🧠 What You’ll Learn in This Webinar

✅ Why Year-End Tax Planning Matters
The difference between tax planning vs. tax preparation
Why December 31 is a hard stop for many strategies
How waiting until April limits your options

🔁 Roth Conversions (With Real Math Examples)
What a Roth conversion is and when it makes sense
How lower-income years can create planning opportunities
How much to convert — and why converting too much can backfire

Impacts on:
Tax brackets
Medicare IRMAA surcharges
Deductions and phaseouts
Why the best Roth conversion is the most intentional one

👨‍👩‍👧 Family Payroll Strategies
Paying children legitimately through a Schedule C or S-Corp
Age-appropriate work and reasonable wages
Payroll tax savings (including FICA-free wages in certain structures)
Why children must be paid as W-2 employees, not 1099s
Required documentation (job descriptions, timesheets, payroll setup)

💰 Roth IRAs for Kids (Long-Term Wealth Building)
How earned income allows children to fund a Roth IRA
Why funding a Roth early can be life-changing
A real example showing how 5 years of contributions can grow to nearly $1 million tax-free

How Roth funds can later be used for:
Education
First home down payment
Retirement

📉 Tax-Loss Harvesting
Using investment losses to offset gains
Carrying losses forward to future years
Avoiding wash sale rules
Coordinating tax-loss harvesting with Roth conversions and portfolio rebalancing

❤️ Charitable Giving & Retirement Planning
Donating cash vs. appreciated stock or crypto
How to avoid capital gains taxes through charitable donations
Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)
“Bunching” charitable contributions for maximum deduction impact
Using charitable strategies alongside retirement planning

🏢 Business Owner Year-End Moves
Accelerating expenses and deferring income (when appropriate)
Section 179 and bonus depreciation considerations
Cleaning up books before year-end
Reasonable compensation for S-Corp owners
Understanding the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction
Why bookkeeping throughout the year prevents tax surprises

🚫 What NOT to Do at Year-End
Don’t do Roth conversions blindly
Don’t buy equipment just for a tax deduction
Don’t over-contribute to retirement accounts
Don’t rely on internet “tax hacks” without professional guidance

📋 End-of-Year Tax Planning Checklist
This webinar concludes with a practical checklist covering:
Roth conversions
Family payroll
Retirement contributions
Charitable giving
Investment gains and losses
Business deductions
Withholding and estimated tax payments

📅 What’s Next?
Our next Tax Tuesday webinar is coming up soon and will focus on:
Getting Ahead of Tax Filing Season & Avoiding Common Mistakes

👉 View upcoming webinars and register at:
https://molentax.com/webinars

📞 Need Help With Year-End Planning?

If you’d like help applying these strategies to your specific situation, we offer one-on-one tax planning consultations. Availability is limited as year-end approaches.

📍 Molen & Associates
Houston-area tax preparation & accounting firm
Serving individuals, self-employed professionals, and small businesses for over 45 years

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