Capital Gains
Be aware of capital gain distributions when purchasing new mutual funds:
Like other types of securities, you realize capital gains on your mutual fund holdings when you sell them. However, a unique feature of mutual funds is their potential annual distribution of capital gains to shareholders.
 

Tax loss harvesting
Capital loss harvesting may be used to reduce taxes on other reportable capital gains. This requires selling securities at a value less than their adjusted cost basis to create a loss, which is generally used to offset other realized capital gains for the year.


Consider converting to a Roth IRA
Roth conversions: One way to benefit from tax-advantaged growth potential and possible tax-free distributions may be to convert your Traditional IRA or QRP eligible rollover distribution to a Roth IRA. You must meet the plan rules of a QRP in order to be eligible to make a distribution from your QRP. At the time of conversion, you will pay the appropriate taxes due, but the benefits of tax-free income in retirement may justify the conversion. One benefit is that any earnings would be distributed tax-free, assuming your Roth IRA has been open and funded for at least 5 years and you are at least age 59½, or you are disabled, or you are using the first-time homebuyer exception ($10,000 lifetime limit).
 

Take advantage of charitable deductions
The higher standard deduction combined with limits on other deductions means fewer people will be able to deduct their charitable contributions. An option to get a deduction is to bunch your donations together into one year and take the standard deduction in an alternate year if eligible.
 

Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)
 QCDs are a unique tax strategy that allows individuals who are at least age 70½ and have Traditional and/or Inherited IRAs to distribute up to $111,000, directly from their IRA to a qualified charity (excluding Donor Advised Funds) with no federal income tax consequences.


Donor Advised Fund (DAF)17
 A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) is a popular charitable giving vehicle which may assist with charitable planning in multiple ways. Most commonly, donors contribute assets and may receive a charitable deduction when most appropriate for their planning needs.
Additionally, the "donor-advisors" are allowed to advise on the ultimate timing of the distributions and what charities will receive grants from the fund. It can also be a tool for "bunching" charitable contributions into a given year.