(This article originally appeared in the December 2024 issue of Military Officer, a magazine available to all MOAA Premium and Life members. Learn more about the magazine here; learn more about joining MOAA here.)

With the holiday season fast approaching, dealing with your financial plan might not be top of mind. However, a few issues are best tackled before the end of the calendar year.

Here are seven money moves you should consider making by the end of December.

1. Required Distributions

If you must take a required minimum distribution (RMD), then Dec. 31 is the deadline. It’s best not to wait until the last minute, since many other account owners and beneficiaries will be scrambling to take their distributions, too. While 2022’s SECURE 2.0 Act lowered the penalty on missed RMDs, there is still a 25% excise tax if you don’t take an RMD in time or take an insufficient amount.

2. TRICARE/Health Insurance

Many health plans, including TRICARE and the Federal Employee Health Benefits program, reset deductibles and catastrophic caps (the most you or your family will pay for covered health care services) on Jan. 1 each year. If you’ve met your plan’s cap for 2024, it makes sense to schedule any necessary appointments or procedures before year-end.

[NEWLY UPDATED: MOAA's TRICARE Guide]

3. Flexible Spending Accounts

A flexible spending account (FSA) is an employer-provided benefit that lets employees set aside pre-tax money for out-of-pocket health care and dependent care expenses. The accounts often expire at the end of the year.

If you have “use or lose” funds in your FSA, make sure you spend them.

4. Retirement Savings 

Did you max out contributions to your employer’s retirement plan? While you can make contributions to your individual retirement accounts (IRAs) all the way through to Tax Day of next year (April 15, 2025), you must make contributions to employer-sponsored plans by the end of the calendar year.

Employer- based plans also don’t have the same income restrictions and limitations that IRAs do.

[RELATED: How to Maximize Your Social Security Benefits]

5. Tax Strategies

If you plan on making a Roth conversion, which moves funds from a traditional qualified retirement plan to a Roth IRA, the deadline to do so for this tax year is Dec. 31. Be sure to have enough cash saved to pay taxes on the conversion.

If you know that you won’t be eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA this year because your modified adjusted gross income is above the income limit, then you can consider a “backdoor Roth” strategy where you make contributions to a traditional IRA and then convert it to a Roth. Contributions using this strategy must be made by the end of the year.

[RELATED: Is a Backdoor Roth IRA Right for You?]

6. Charitable Contributions

Charitable donations can potentially mean a tax deduction, but a higher standard deduction may mean it doesn’t make sense to itemize taxes each year.

Mike Hunsberger, ChFC®, CFP®, CCFC, owner of Next Mission Financial Planning, LLC, and a MOAA Life member, says you could consider “bunching” several years’ worth of contributions in one tax year to take advantage of itemizing.

“Another great way to make your year-end charitable donations is to use appreciated stock in your taxable brokerage account. Many charities will allow you to transfer the shares directly to their account,” Hunsberger said. “Since you didn’t sell the shares, you don’t have to pay the capital gains taxes. If you itemize your deductions, you can also take a deduction for the gift.”

[MOAA CHARITIES: Ways to Give] 

7. Gifting

For 2024, individuals can gift up to $18,000 to another individual without the need to file any gift tax forms or incurring any kind of tax burden on either side. A couple could gift $36,000 to an individual.

Grandparents could consider contributing to their grandchild’s 529 education savings plan to help with future education expenses.