5 Financial Planning Moves to Consider Before the End of the Year

The fourth quarter is when a lot of financial planning decisions have real deadlines. Several strategies that are available all year become far more time-sensitive once December 31st is on the horizon. Here are five worth reviewing now, while there's still time to act thoughtfully rather than in a rush.

1. Maximize Retirement Contributions

For 2026, the IRS raised several key contribution limits:

• 401(k), 403(b), and most 457 plans: $24,500 for employee contributions.
• Catch-up contributions (age 50+): an additional $8,000, for a total of $32,500.
• "Super catch-up" (ages 60–63): an additional $11,250 instead of the standard catch-up, if your plan allows it.
• IRA contributions: $7,500, plus an additional $1,100 catch-up for those 50 and older.

If you have room in your budget to increase contributions before year-end, doing so can reduce this year's taxable income (for pre-tax accounts) while adding to your long-term savings.

2. Consider a Roth Conversion

A Roth conversion moves money from a pre-tax account (like a traditional IRA) into a Roth account, triggering income tax on the converted amount now in exchange for tax-free growth and withdrawals later.

This can make sense in years when your income — and therefore your tax bracket — is temporarily lower than it's likely to be in the future, such as early retirement before Social Security or pension income begins. It's a decision that depends heavily on your specific tax situation and time horizon, which is why it's worth modeling out before acting.

3. Review Charitable Giving Strategies

If charitable giving is part of your plan, a few strategies are worth a year-end look:

• Donating appreciated securities directly, rather than cash, which can allow you to avoid capital gains tax on the appreciation while still claiming a deduction if you itemize.
• "Bunching" multiple years of giving into a single tax year to exceed the standard deduction threshold, sometimes using a donor-advised fund.
• Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from an IRA, available starting at age 70½, which can satisfy some or all of a Required Minimum Distribution while excluding the amount from taxable income.

4. Review Capital Gains and Losses

Year-end is a natural time to review your taxable investment accounts for both gains and losses. For 2026, long-term capital gains are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%, depending on your taxable income level — so where you fall relative to those thresholds can meaningfully affect the after-tax outcome of a sale.

Tax-loss harvesting — selling a position at a loss to offset realized gains elsewhere in your portfolio — can also reduce your tax bill, provided it's done carefully and in a way that keeps your overall investment strategy intact.

5. Confirm Required Minimum Distributions Are on Track

If you're required to take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) — generally starting at age 73 — make sure it's been satisfied before December 31st. Missing an RMD deadline can result in a meaningful IRS penalty, so this is one item worth confirming rather than assuming is already handled.

The Bottom Line

None of these five moves needs to happen all at once, and not all of them will apply to your situation. But each one has a year-end deadline attached to it — which makes now the right time to review your options rather than in the final week of December.

If you'd like to walk through which of these apply to you, let's schedule time before the calendar runs out.