As 2026 winds down, year-end planning is an opportunity to evaluate how your taxes, investment decisions and wealth-transfer strategies work together.
Start with some self-reflection. Focus on your progress, your feelings about it and actions you might want to take next year. If you've had personal, family or employment changes, think about how they could affect your goals and your ability to achieve them.
Consider your tax situation. Work with your financial advisor and tax professional to identify year-end tax opportunities. This could include tax-loss harvesting, where you can sell unrealized losses in your taxable accounts to offset capital gains recognized throughout the year, including long-term capital gain distributions from mutual funds. Also starting this year, a new limitation may reduce the value of itemized deductions for some taxpayers in the 37% tax bracket.
If you’re 73 or older, be sure to check if you have required minimum distributions to take before the year-end.
Make the most of tax-advantaged savings opportunities. Consider whether you're making full use of your health savings account (HSA) and retirement plan opportunities. You should also review your mix of pre-tax and after-tax retirement savings to determine if you should adjust where you're saving. Depending on your circumstances, you may want to evaluate opportunities such as Roth conversions, backdoor Roth and mega backdoor Roth contributions. If you're saving for education, a 529 plan provides both flexibility and potential tax benefits.
Review giving strategies that can reduce your gross estate. If giving to others is one of your goals, consider charitable giving or annual gifting strategies to help support the people and causes you care about while also reducing the size of your taxable estate. You can also receive a current tax benefit from your charitable donations. If you're age 70½ or older, you may be able to exclude up to $111,000 from your adjusted gross income (AGI) by making qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) directly from your IRA. These distributions can satisfy your RMD if you have one, which helps lower your AGI.
Also note that the rules for other charitable donations changed this year. If you take the standard deduction, you can now deduction up to $1,000 (or $2,000 if you file jointly) of cash donations. On the other hand, if you itemize deductions, you may not be able to deduct as much of your charitable giving as in the past. Work with your tax professional and financial advisor on related strategies.
Revisit your estate plan and beneficiary designations. Changes in your family circumstances, finances or estate laws can make existing plans outdated. Review beneficiary designations, account titling and estate-planning documents to help ensure your assets transfer according to your wishes.
As your financial life becomes more complex, the connections between investment, tax and estate-planning decisions become more important. Year-end is an ideal time to evaluate those relationships and identify opportunities to strengthen the overall efficiency of your wealth strategy.
This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.
Edward Jones, its employees and financial advisors, cannot provide tax or legal advice. You should consult your attorney or qualified tax advisor regarding your situation.
Edward Jones, Member SIPC
