2015 is slowly drawing to a close, and now is the time to prep for your 2016 taxes.

A lot of people wait until the spring to even think about their taxes, then don’t feel prepared when April arrives. The end of 2015 is the time to be proactive about your taxes and plan for 2016. Lowering your taxes for 2016 starts now as you have the ability to make changes that can and will affect how much you pay or get refunded.

1. Last Minute Deductions

To reduce your taxable income for 2016, there are a few ways to go. You can invest more money in your retirement account, thus keeping your money and earning interest on it, while lowering your taxable income. Be sure to not exceed your contribution limits. Donating to charity in the last few months of 2015 can also help to lower your taxable income as well as giving you tax write-offs.

2. Take Inventory

Determine your balance in your pre-tax and after-tax 401(k) and IRAs in order to properly position your investments for 2016. This will help you understand your possible deductions from 2015’s income as well as retirement taxes.

3. Know Your Effective Tax Rate

You probably know your tax bracket, but your effective tax rate is different. Your effective tax rate is the percentage of your total income that you pay in taxes each year. Why does this matter? Knowing your rate can determine whether you should be putting money in a pre-tax 401(k) or an after-tax Roth account. If you think your tax rate is lower now than it will be in retirement, you would want to put more into a Roth account so that it is taxed now instead of later.

4. Conversions

Once you understand your effective tax rate and how it affects your retirement planning, you can take another look at your inventory and move money between your 401(k) plan and Roth accounts by December 31. Roth conversions allow you to move small amounts of money around at a taxable rate so you are paying taxes on your money now rather than in retirement. Conversions little by little and year after year can increase your money in retirement, with the help of your financial or tax adviser.

5. Address any Withholding Issues

Worried you’ll be owing on your taxes in 2016? Don’t play a guessing game until April comes around, use your tax software to run the numbers now and make adjustments before the new year. If you are going to get a refund next year, you can lower your tax withholding’s to give you more of a disposable income in 2016.

6. Make the Most of Investment Losses

If you suffered investment losses this year and do not think those investments will turn around in 2016, you may want to sell them which would allow you to write them off on your taxes come April.

7. Leverage Your Resources

For those that took advantage of an FSA (Flexible Spending Account) this year, it is the time to check the balance on that account. If you do not spend the money you put away by the end of the year, you will lose it. If you have leftover money, use it on things such as medical expenses (i.e doctors appointments or flu shots). Another option is a HSA (Health Savings Account) which works the same way, but your funds will rollover if not used by December 31.

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