Year-end tax planning moves clients must make by Dec. 31

The final weeks of the year are when planning turns into action. Once Dec. 31 passes, most of the choices shaping your clients' 2026 returns are locked in. This year deserves extra attention because several provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) took effect in 2026, including new rules for charitable deductions. A focused year-end review helps you find savings, prevent penalties and show clients the value of working with you all year.

Year-end planning looks like a checklist on paper. It isn't. It's a short window when timing still works in your client's favor, and once Dec. 31 passes, most of those doors close.

Why timing income is the first conversation

Start with a simple question: Will your client's marginal rate be higher this year or next? For 2026, the 22% bracket starts above $50,400 of taxable income for single filers and $100,800 for married taxpayers filing jointly. A bonus, a Roth conversion or a large retirement withdrawal can push income across that line. If next year looks lighter, deferring makes sense. If it looks heavier, pulling income into this year may be the smarter move.

Investments deserve the same look. Losses offset gains, and up to $3,000 of extra loss ($1,500 for married taxpayers filing separately) can reduce ordinary income, with the rest carried forward. Here's the part clients rarely expect: Buy the same stock back within 30 days before or after the sale, and the §1091 wash sale rule disallows the loss. On the gain side, long-term gains are taxed at 0% for clients with taxable income up to $49,450, or $98,900 on a joint return.

The accounts with deadlines clients forget

Retirement and health accounts are some of the easiest savings to find, but the calendar isn't the same for all of them. Salary deferrals to a §401(k) plan have to come out of 2026 paychecks. The limit is $24,500, plus $8,000 in catch-up contributions for clients age 50 and older, or $11,250 for those who turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 in 2026.

January is too late.

Individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) give clients more room. They can make 2026 contributions until the April 2027 filing deadline, not including extensions. The IRA limit is $7,500, or $8,600 for clients age 50 and older. HSA limits are $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage. Clients mix up these dates all the time, and that's where you come in.

Giving, gifting and the RMD nobody remembered

Charitable giving changed this year. Clients who itemize can deduct only the contributions above 0.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI). Clients who don't itemize can deduct up to $1,000 in cash gifts to eligible charities, or $2,000 on a joint return, but gifts to donor-advised funds (DAFs) don't count for that deduction. For itemizers, donating appreciated stock held more than one year still earns its keep; they generally base the deduction on fair market value (FMV), subject to applicable limits, and do not recognize the gain. Family gifts matter, too. The annual exclusion is $19,000 per recipient, and unused amounts don't carry over.

Then there's the required minimum distribution (RMD). Clients who miss an RMD face a 25% excise tax on the shortfall, reduced to 10% if they take the corrective distribution and file a return reporting the tax within the correction window, generally by the end of the second following tax year unless IRS action closes it sooner. A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) solves two problems at once. Clients age 70½ or older can send up to $111,000 straight from an IRA to an eligible charity, and it counts toward their RMD without adding to income. A one-time election even lets them direct up to $55,000 to a qualifying charitable remainder trust (CRT) funded only by QCDs.

Why this deserves a spot on your calendar

Year-end planning isn't busy work. It's the difference between a client who hears bad news in April and one who thanks you for the call in November. These conversations are where clients see what you're worth.

If you want to walk into each one with confidence, join NATP's Year-End Tax Planning for Individuals webinar on Nov. 10, 2026. The webinar is also available on demand after the live event. You'll work through income timing, capital gain and loss strategies, retirement and health account funding, charitable giving and RMD risks, so you're ready before the year runs out.