by Catherine A. Walsh, CPA, MBT

It’s time to start considering your Year End Tax Strategies. Schedule a Year End Tax & Financial Review with Wealth Enhancement Group and receive a complimentary Year End Tax Planning Guide. Tax strategies can be complicated and Wealth Enhancement Group wants you to get the most out of your money!

Taxes — What’s New in 2008?

You may be asking yourself this question as year end approaches. Here are some tax law changes to keep in mind as you position yourself financially for 2008:

Charitable Contributions

Charitable IRA Rollovers will no longer be allowed. You may still take advantage of this provision until December 31, 2007. This is the provision that allowed someone aged 70 ½ or older to transfer an IRA distribution directly to charity in 2006 and 2007. If executed properly, the distribution will be included in the gross income of the IRA owner.

No deduction for cash contributions. This means no write-offs for cash placed in Salvation Army pots or church collection plates. You must have a cancelled check, a bank record or a receipt from the charity. This is not new but you may not have heard that the law became effective in 2007.

Direct Roth IRA Rollover

Starting in 2008, a plan participant may rollover their employer retirement plan directly to a Roth IRA if they meet the income limitations – they must have a modified adjusted gross income under $100,000 (negating the need for the two step process of rolling it into a traditional IRA and then converting the traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.). This change will provide new opportunities for some participants with after-tax money in their employer plan. In 2010, when the income limitations are lifted, all individuals will have the ability to do a Roth IRA conversion regardless of their income.

Lump Sum Pension Distributions