Quick answer: Before December 31, review retirement plan contributions, Required Minimum Distributions, Roth conversion opportunities, tax-loss harvesting, charitable giving, employer benefits, insurance, estate documents, and beneficiaries. Some year-end strategies have hard calendar-year deadlines, while others, such as IRA or HSA contributions, may have additional time after December 31.
What Financial Planning Moves Should You Make Before Year-End?
The end of the year always seems to arrive quickly. Once Thanksgiving passes, the holidays take over and tax season may still feel far away.
But year-end can be one of the most important financial planning windows of the year. Some decisions must be completed before December 31, while others are easier to evaluate once you have a clearer picture of your income, taxes, investments, and retirement plan for the year.
Before the calendar turns, consider reviewing:
- Retirement plan contributions
- FSA balances and HSA contributions
- Required Minimum Distributions
- Qualified Charitable Distributions and other charitable gifts
- Roth conversion opportunities
- Tax-loss harvesting
- Employer benefits
- Insurance coverage
- Estate planning documents and beneficiaries
Key insight: Not every financial deadline is December 31. The goal of year-end planning is to separate the decisions that truly must happen before year-end from those that can still be completed during the following tax season.
12 Year-End Financial Planning Moves to Review
1. Check Your FSA Balance and Review Your HSA
If you participate in a Flexible Spending Account, review your remaining balance and your employer's plan rules. Some FSAs are subject to "use it or lose it" provisions, although a plan may permit a limited carryover or grace period.
If you're eligible for a Health Savings Account, year-end is also a good time to review how much you've contributed. For 2026, the HSA contribution limit is $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, before any applicable age-55 catch-up contribution.
Unlike FSA balances, HSA money generally rolls over from year to year and can continue growing for future qualified medical expenses.
2. Take Your Required Minimum Distribution
If you're required to take an RMD, make sure the correct amount is distributed by the applicable deadline. Missing an RMD can result in an IRS excise tax on the amount that should have been withdrawn.
RMD rules depend on your age, account type, and circumstances. Under current law, RMDs generally begin at age 73 for many current retirees, with the applicable age eventually increasing to 75 for younger cohorts.
If you realize you've missed a distribution, don't ignore it. Our video on
how to fix a missed RMD
explains what to review next.
3. Consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution
If you're age 70½ or older, a Qualified Charitable Distribution may allow you to transfer eligible IRA funds directly to a qualified charity. A qualifying QCD can be excluded from taxable income and may also count toward your RMD if you have one.
If charitable giving is already part of your plan, year-end is a good time to coordinate QCDs with your retirement income and tax strategy rather than treating the gift as a separate decision.
You can also see our video on
year-end tax-free charitable giving strategies
.
4. Review Charitable Gifts Before December 31
If you're planning charitable gifts, review whether completing contributions before year-end fits your tax and legacy strategy.
Depending on your situation, you may want to evaluate bunching multiple years of charitable giving into one tax year, contributing appreciated securities, using a donor-advised fund, or coordinating gifts with other income-planning decisions.
The tax treatment depends on the type of asset, the organization receiving the gift, your deductions, and your broader tax situation.
5. Review Next Year's Employer Benefits
Open enrollment is an opportunity to review more than just your health insurance. Consider how your benefits fit into the rest of your financial plan.
Depending on your employer, that may include:
- Health insurance
- HSA or FSA elections
- Life and disability insurance
- Legal or identity-protection benefits
- Dependent-care benefits
- Employee stock or equity programs
If retirement is approaching, also consider how employer healthcare and other benefits would change once your paycheck ends.
6. Maximize 401(k) and IRA Contributions Where Appropriate
Year-end is a good time to check whether you're on track with retirement contributions and whether increasing your final payroll deferrals makes sense.
For 2026, the employee elective-deferral limit for most 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457 plans is $24,500. The standard age-50-and-older catch-up contribution is $8,000. Participants who are ages 60 through 63 may qualify for a higher $11,250 catch-up contribution, depending on the plan.
The 2026 IRA contribution limit is $7,500, or $8,600 if you're age 50 or older.
Deadline reminder: Employee salary deferrals to a 401(k) generally need to be made through payroll for the calendar year, so your employer may have a cutoff before December 31. Traditional and Roth IRA contributions generally have until the following year's tax-filing deadline.
7. Evaluate a Roth Conversion Before the December 31 Deadline
A Roth conversion is different from making a Roth IRA contribution. A conversion moves eligible pre-tax retirement assets into a Roth IRA and generally creates taxable income in the year of the conversion.
If you want a Roth conversion to count for the current tax year, it generally needs to be completed by December 31. That's why year-end is an important time to estimate your full-year income and determine whether you have a lower-income window that may make a partial conversion worth considering.
The amount to convert should be evaluated alongside your federal tax bracket, Arizona's flat 2.5% state rate, Medicare IRMAA, Social Security taxation, future RMDs, and other income.
If you're considering a conversion as part of your year-end planning, our video on
Roth conversions before RMDs
explains how to think about how much to convert rather than simply converting as much as possible.
8. Review Tax-Loss Harvesting Opportunities
If you own investments in taxable accounts that are worth less than you paid for them, year-end may be a good time to evaluate tax-loss harvesting.
Capital losses generally offset capital gains. If your losses exceed your gains, individuals may generally use up to $3,000 of net capital losses against other income each year, with unused losses carried forward to future years.
Be careful about the wash-sale rule. Selling an investment at a loss and buying the same or a substantially identical security within the applicable 30-day window can cause the loss to be disallowed for current tax purposes.
Our video on
how tax-loss harvesting can help reduce your tax bill
explains how the strategy works and what to watch for.
9. Plan for Upcoming Life Events
A job change, retirement date, home purchase, major medical procedure, move, marriage, divorce, or other life event can affect multiple parts of your financial plan at once.
Look ahead at the next 12 to 24 months and identify decisions that may affect cash flow, taxes, insurance, investments, healthcare, or estate planning.
If retirement timing is one of those decisions, our video
Work One More Year or Retire Now?
looks at how another year of work can affect the numbers.
10. Review Your Estate Plan
Review your will, trust, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and other estate documents to make sure they still reflect your wishes and current family situation.
Estate planning isn't only about estate taxes. It's also about who can act for you if you're unable to make decisions, how assets will transfer, and whether your beneficiary designations and account ownership are coordinated with the rest of your plan.
Arizona residents can learn more in our guide to
why you still need an estate plan in Arizona
.
11. Review Your Insurance Policies
Review home, auto, life, disability, umbrella, and other insurance coverage to determine whether your policies still match your assets, liabilities, family needs, and lifestyle.
Pay particular attention after major changes such as buying a home, retiring, starting or selling a business, receiving an inheritance, or experiencing a significant increase in net worth.
12. Update Your Beneficiaries
Review beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance policies, annuities, and other accounts that transfer by beneficiary designation.
This is especially important after marriage, divorce, a death in the family, the birth of a child or grandchild, or an estate-plan update.
Planning takeaway: A beneficiary designation can override instructions elsewhere in your estate plan, so your accounts, wills, and trusts should be reviewed together rather than independently.
Which Year-End Financial Deadlines Actually Fall on December 31?
One reason year-end planning gets confusing is that not every strategy has the same deadline.
- Roth conversions: generally must be completed by December 31 to count for that tax year
- Most RMDs: generally due by December 31, subject to special rules for a first RMD and certain other situations
- 401(k) employee deferrals: generally need to be made through payroll for the calendar year
- Tax-loss harvesting: investment sales generally need to occur within the tax year
- Charitable gifts: generally need to be completed within the tax year to count for that year's deduction
- IRA contributions: generally can be made through the tax-filing deadline for the prior year
- HSA contributions: may generally be made through the tax-filing deadline, subject to eligibility and contribution rules
Key insight: Don't assume April's tax deadline can fix every missed year-end opportunity. Roth conversions, most RMDs, investment sales, and many payroll decisions are tied to the calendar year.
Final Thoughts: Use Year-End to Coordinate Your Financial Plan
The value of year-end planning isn't simply checking 12 items off a list. It's seeing how the decisions work together.
A Roth conversion can affect taxes and Medicare. A charitable gift can interact with an RMD. Tax-loss harvesting can affect your investment and tax strategy. A retirement date can change your healthcare, cash flow, and tax picture at the same time.
Reviewing these issues before the year ends gives you time to identify which decisions actually require action now and which can be planned more deliberately into the new year.
FAQs About Year-End Financial Planning
What financial moves should I make before December 31?
Review retirement plan contributions, Required Minimum Distributions, Roth conversion opportunities, tax-loss harvesting, charitable giving, employer benefits, insurance, estate documents, and beneficiary designations. Some of these strategies have December 31 deadlines, while others may allow additional time.
Which financial planning deadlines are actually December 31?
Roth conversions, most RMDs, year-end investment sales used for tax-loss harvesting, and many employee retirement-plan deferrals are tied to the calendar year. IRA and HSA contributions may generally have later deadlines, subject to applicable rules.
Can I still contribute to an IRA or 401(k) after December 31?
Traditional and Roth IRA contributions generally can be made through the tax-filing deadline for the prior year. Employee 401(k) salary deferrals generally need to be made through payroll during the calendar year, and employers may impose earlier payroll deadlines.
What are the 2026 401(k) and IRA contribution limits?
For 2026, the employee elective-deferral limit for most 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457 plans is $24,500. The standard age-50-and-older catch-up is $8,000, while eligible participants ages 60 through 63 may have a higher $11,250 catch-up limit. The IRA contribution limit is $7,500, or $8,600 for those age 50 or older.
What happens if I miss my Required Minimum Distribution?
Missing a required distribution can trigger an IRS excise tax on the amount that should have been withdrawn. The penalty may be reduced when the shortfall is corrected within the applicable correction period, so it's important to address a missed RMD promptly.
What is the deadline for a Roth conversion?
If you want a Roth conversion to count for the current tax year, it generally needs to be completed by December 31. Financial institutions may have earlier processing deadlines, so don't wait until the final day of the year to start the process.
How does tax-loss harvesting work at year-end?
Capital losses can generally be used to offset capital gains. If losses exceed gains, individuals can generally deduct up to $3,000 of net capital losses against other income and carry additional unused losses forward. Wash-sale rules should also be considered before repurchasing the same or substantially identical investments.
What's the difference between an FSA and an HSA at year-end?
FSA balances may be subject to use-it-or-lose-it rules, although some employer plans permit a carryover or grace period. HSA balances generally roll over from year to year and can remain invested for future qualified medical expenses.
Can charitable giving help with year-end tax planning?
It can. Depending on your circumstances, strategies may include Qualified Charitable Distributions, gifts of appreciated securities, donor-advised funds, or completing deductible charitable gifts before year-end. The tax result depends on your income, deductions, assets, and the type of gift.
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