The final weeks of the year tend to blur together in a whirlwind of pie orders, last-minute shopping, school concerts and cross-country flights. But amid the bustle, it’s worth pausing to take stock of your financial picture. A few thoughtful steps now can help you optimize your tax situation, strengthen your savings and position yourself for a confident start to 2026.
Mind the Evergreens
Balsam and holly aren’t the only evergreens worth considering as December rolls around. Some financial tasks never go out of season, including maximizing retirement contributions, making charitable gifts and managing capital gains and losses.
- Retirement Accounts: Dec. 31 is the final day to make 2025 contributions to your employer-sponsored retirement plan. This year, you can contribute up to $23,500 to a 401(k), plus an additional $7,500 catch-up contribution if you’re 50 or older. There’s a big change here for 2025: a higher catch-up limit of $11,250 for individuals ages 60 through 63. In 2026, the annual contribution limit rises to $24,500 and catch-up contributions increase to $8,000. The higher catch-up contribution for those 60 to 63 remains the same.
- IRAs and HSAs offer slightly more breathing room—their 2025 contribution deadline isn’t until April 15, 2026. But the earlier you contribute, the longer your investments can benefit from compounding.
- While you’re reviewing retirement accounts, consider increasing your contribution rate for next year or enabling automatic annual increases if you haven’t already. Small boosts add up meaningfully over time.
- Capital Gains and Losses: If you’ve sold investments at a gain this year, you may be able to reduce your tax bill by realizing losses elsewhere in your portfolio. Through tax-loss harvesting, losses can offset gains, and if your realized losses exceed your gains, you can deduct up to $3,000 against ordinary income. Losses must be realized by year-end.
- Charitable Contributions: If you plan to deduct charitable contributions for the 2025 tax year, gifts must be made by Dec. 31. (More on charitable strategy below.)
Give Thoughtfully (and Tax Efficiently)
The charitable giving landscape is set to shift in coming years. The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) permanently extends the higher standard deduction with further increases in coming year. Rules will change for itemizers as well. In 2026, if you itemize, you will only be able to itemize charitable deductions on contribution amounts that exceed 0.5% of your adjusted gross income. Finally, top earners will see the deduction value of gifting capped at 35% instead of the full marginal rate of 37% in 2026.
Together, these changes mean a more complex charitable giving environment. In some cases, smaller donations may not offer the same tax impact next year as they have in previous years—including this one. It may make sense to increase your giving this year to take advantage of the current rules, perhaps consolidating several years’ worth of giving into a single large gift.
A donor-advised fund (DAF) can be a strategic way to do this. By contributing to a DAF before Dec. 31, you receive an immediate tax deduction while preserving flexibility to recommend grants to charities over time.
Lock in Home Efficiency Tax Credits—While You Still Can
Thinking about upgrading insulation or installing solar panels? Two valuable credits are set to expire at the end of the year: the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit and the Residential Clean Energy Credit.
To qualify, improvements must be placed in service—fully installed and ready for use—by Dec. 31, 2025. The purchase date doesn’t matter, but the installation date does. If energy-efficiency upgrades are on your list, don’t wait to try and line up an installer who has the capacity to complete the work before year end.
Enjoy Some Breathing Room
Beyond its effects on charitable giving, the OBBBA also includes broader tax implications worth noting.
The bill preserves the income tax rates and brackets established in 2017 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Had those expired, the brackets would have reverted to the higher pre-2018 rates. What does this reprieve mean in practice? You may not need to rush to realize income—such as a year-end bonus—before Dec. 31 to avoid being taxed at a higher rate. The extra time could provide more runway for strategic planning.
Allow Yourself to Do Nothing
Year-end planning isn’t only about getting things done. It’s also about protecting your time, energy and emotional bandwidth. Between office gatherings, family obligations, travel and shopping, these weeks can feel overfull. And while holiday obligations can be fun, they can also be draining.
Be honest about what you can take on. Practicing saying “no” when you’re stretched thin is an act of self-care. Doing so often allows you to say “yes” to the experiences that actually bring you joy, like finding time to exercise, curl up with a good book or watch a cheesy Hallmark movie.
If you’re wondering about other financial steps you can take as 2025 draws to a close, please feel free to reach out. We’d love to hear from you.