for "nightly business r m sharon epperson. >>> finally tonight, a gold bar was recently placed among dollar bills and coins in an idaho salvation ar kettle. the one-ounce bar is worth more than $1200. the salvation army plans to trade it in for cash. as we told you yesterday, a $200,000 check was also recently dona such a nice story to end on. >> keep the donations coming. >> absolutely. >>> on that note, that does it for us tonight. i'm sue herera. thanks for joi us. >> i'm bill griffeth. have >> this is "bbc world news america." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm, sunny days, cooling trade winds, and the crystal blue caribbean sea.

sharon epperson joins us now with that tonight. it's always good to see you, sharon. >> good to be here. >> let's start, first of all, with year-end tax planning. it's always important, but more so this year, righ manager so t. the tax-saving strategies we're going to talk about are some of the best gifts you can give yourself, but espe o key things you've been doing may change significantly. one is if you itemize your deductions. the standard deduction is likely in both versions to increase, nearly double to $12,000 for single filers and $24,000 for married couples filing jointly. that's a big change. and so, if you itemize some of the deductions that you mentioned, that's going to be a change you want to take a look at now. >> i have a cheat sheet, so i know that she's got some really important tips here on what you can do. so, what should, as taxpayers get to the end of the year, what should they be looking at? what can they do to be protractive against what's going to be for some cases, anyway, an expensive change in their life?

senior correspondent and tax expert sharon epperson what can you do? >> maximize your savings contributions because you get big savings there. you want to sell your investment market it's not many but it's something to consider, i'm tell you why. and also review your charitable contributions, your deductible expenses. >> let's start with this, the 401(k) most don't contribute. what is it >> the maximum is $18,000 for 2017 24,000 if you're older it reduces your taxable income dollar for dollar for a traditional 401(k) plan. you want to make sure you contribute as much as you can up to that max and also if you can't, or you don't have a 401(k) plan at work, maybe you can put money into an ira. you can put $5,500 into that or $6,500 you have until april start now. dollar cost averaging in is also very important and if you're self-employed or freelance, the solo 401(k) is amazing. you can put up to 54,000 into that plan. $64,000 if you're 50 or older. you have do that by january 1st. >> we receive an upswing it could mean a much bigger tax bill for some pe

joining us with the details is sharon epperson. how does this tax plan impact charitable giving. >> one of the ways when you look at the standard detux, what's proposed to nearly double the standard deduction to about $12,000, that may mean people plan to take the standard detux in future years. if you don't itemize, you cannot claim a charitable contribution. if you want to make sure your charitable deduction really counts, then it may be best to kind of front load and put more toward charitable giving this year, it's it's so uncertain about what will happen. >> they haven't taken away the ability to deduct, they've just proposed raising the standard deduction. exactly. >> which makes fewer people itemize. >> exactly. >> what ar curre tax breaks. >> and we should say, of course, this is not the reason you give. you just get the tax break. >> right. >> gemly if you give a tables contribution, you can take up to 50% of your adjusted gross income, so that deduction is pretty significant. the majority of people give that way, and the

season it's important to do your homework here with tips on how to make your dollars count is sharon epperson great to see you. >> good to be ere. >> how do you make sure you are not falling for a scam, that you are giving to a good organization with a credible background. >> vet the charities and go to a couple of sources on line. guidestarratesnonprofits as well as charity navigator to see where the money goes within the organization and what they think. google, of course, also to find out any news stories about the organizations, scandals, awards and honors then go to the website and see what the leadership team looks like they are the ones that are going to make sure your dollars serve the purpose they are supposed to. >> folks say i like to give nationally or to local charities. what's the best way? >> there is no best way. it's a personal decision a lot of people do what those folks said they give most of the money to religious organizations, local institutions that's about a third of where charitable donations go. some go to education some go to human services organizations. you should

senior personal finance correspondent sharon epperson joins us right now with the details of all of thiswhat are the things we need to make sure we are doing before the end of the year? >> well, a couple things you need to make sure you're doing is maxing out your retirement plan contributions, your health savings account contributions, because you get big tax savings there. you also want to sell your investment losers. it's been an up market. might not have many. but it's something to consider. i'll tell you why. and also review your charitable contributions, your deductible expenses. >> l a lot of people probably don't contribute the maximum. what is the maximum and what should we be d the maximum amou0 for 2017. 24,000 if you're 50 or older. and why it's important is those contributions that you make reduce your taxable income dollar for dollar for a traditional 401(k) plan. >> straight off the top. >> so you really want to make sure you contribute as much as you can up to that max. and also if you can't or if you don't have a 401(k) plan at work, maybe you can put money into an i.r.a

now with some tips on how to make your dollars count is senior personal finance correspondent sharon eppersongood to be here. >> how do you make sure that you're not falling for a scam, that you're giving to a good organization with a credible background? >> you want to vet these charities and you want to make sure you go to a couple resources online. go to the better business bureau, guidestar, which rates non-profits, as well as charity navigator and really see where the mo in this organi and what they google of course also to find out any news stories about the organization, any scandals, any awards and honors, and then go to the website of the charity and see what their leadership team looks like. after all, they're the ones who are actually e os to make sure your dollars serve the purpose they're supposed to. we just heard from a lot of folks who say like to give nationally or give to local charities. what's the best way? >> there is no best way. it really is a personal decision. but a lot of people do exactly what some of those folks said. they give most of their money to religious orga

cnbc's sharon epperson reports. >> reporter: 23-year-old zach beck man is a government in the private sector and reservist in the marine corps. military service runs in the family. >> i want to be a marine ever since i was a little kid. it was my first big dream. my dad was a marine, my grandfather was a marine. >> reporter: now corporal never had. >> the old system you basically have to stay in 20 years before you could get any type of retirement plan. >> reporter: under its current retirement plan, military members receive a lifetime pension that's equal to 50% of their base pay. to earn it, they must serve at least 20 years. many aim to hit that target. but only 19% reach it. the majority leave the service with nothing. today people move from job to job. >> and they need a retirement benefit that they can take with them. >> reporter: starting january 1st, service members entering the military will be part of the new blended retirement system. it combines a pension and something like a 401 k. plan, putting more of the responsibility for long-term savings on the member's shoulders. >

jiening us with the details, correspondent sharon epperson. > well the year end countdown is on to make some valuable tax moves that could impact your tax bill in april. start by paying your state income taxes going forward, the deduction for state and local income taxes, plus property taxes, will be capped at $10,000. unfortunately if you're in the amt, you can't take advantage of that tip, but if you generally make an estimated quarterly payment for the fourth quarter on january 15th, make it now this will keep that money from being part of next year's cap. depending on where you live, you may also be able to prepay some of your 2018 property taxes. another tip, boost charitable donations. the standard deductions, it's going to double which means fewer tax payers will want to itemize. and if you don't itemize, you can't use this deduction so increase your charitable donations before the end of the year a donor advise sfund a good option, contribute now and receive a tax deduction for 2017, but then distribute the money over time. now many ded