2026 Year-End Tax Checklist: 9 Moves to Make Before December 31

By Umesh Kumar, founder of TaxToTech · Last updated: November 13, 2026

2026 key numbers at a glance

Sources: IRS 2026 retirement limits, RubinBrown 2026 year-end planning guide.

1. Max out workplace retirement contributions

Your 401(k), 403(b) or governmental 457 contributions have to come out of a 2026 paycheck, so ask HR or payroll now. Many employers need several weeks’ notice to change the amount withheld. For 2026 you can defer $24,500, plus an $8,000 catch-up if you’re 50 or older, or $11,250 if you’re 60 to 63 (IRS).

New for 2026: if your FICA wages from that employer were over $150,000 in the previous year, your catch-up contributions must go in as Roth (after-tax) money. Check that your payroll provider has set this up correctly.

2. Plan IRA and HSA contributions (deadline: April 2027)

You can make 2026 IRA contributions ($7,500, or $8,600 at 50+) and HSA contributions ($4,400 self-only, $8,750 family) up to the tax filing deadline in April 2027. If cash is tight in December, you can wait. Also new for 2026: the 2025 law extended HSA eligibility to people with bronze and catastrophic Marketplace plans and certain direct primary care arrangements. If you switched plans this year, check whether you now qualify.

3. Decide: itemize, bunch, or take the standard deduction

For 2026 the standard deduction is $32,200 for couples and $16,100 for single filers. Itemizing only pays off if your deductions add up to more than that. The higher SALT cap of $40,400 brings itemizing back into play for many homeowners in high-tax states.

• The SALT cap shrinks by 30 cents for each dollar of MAGI above $505,000, down to a floor of $10,000. That floor applies at roughly $606,000 of MAGI.
• Bunching means doubling up deductible payments in one year, such as charitable gifts or a January property-tax bill paid in December if your county allows it, and then taking the standard deduction the next year.
• Top-bracket limit: if you’re in the 37% bracket, the 2025 law caps the benefit of itemized deductions at about 35 cents per dollar.

4. Give to charity the 2026 way

Charity rules changed more than anything else this year.

For non-itemizers, the IRS says only cash gifts count. Gifts to donor-advised funds and supporting organizations don’t qualify. Keep a bank record or written acknowledgement for every gift.

Tip: giving appreciated stock you’ve held for more than a year generally gives itemizers a deduction for its full market value, and you avoid the capital gains tax.

5. Harvest investment losses (and watch the wash-sale rule)

Selling losing investments in a taxable account can offset capital gains, plus up to $3,000 of ordinary income, with any extra losses carried forward. Under the wash-sale rule, the loss is disallowed if you buy the same or a “substantially identical” security within 30 days before or after the sale, and that includes purchases in your IRA. Trades must be made by December 31.

Opportunity Zone alert: if you deferred a capital gain into a Qualified Opportunity Fund under the original program, the remaining deferred gain is generally taxed on December 31, 2026. Plan for the cash you’ll need to pay that tax.

6. Check your W-2 for tips, overtime and car-loan interest

The four new deductions from the 2025 law are for tips (up to $25,000), overtime (up to $12,500, or $25,000 joint), car-loan interest (up to $10,000) and seniors ($6,000 each). They depend on reporting that’s new for 2026:

• Employers must show qualified overtime in Box 12, code TT, and cash tips in Box 12, code TP, with an occupation code in Box 14b.
• Lenders report qualifying car-loan interest of $600 or more on the new Form 1098-VLI.

If you think the overtime figure on your 2026 W-2 will be wrong, ask payroll now. For tax years after 2025 the IRS only lets you deduct overtime that’s reported in code TT, or corrected on a W-2c. Our separate guide to the new W-2 codes for tips and overtime goes through each box step by step.

7. Top up withholding or estimated tax to avoid penalties

You generally avoid an underpayment penalty if your 2026 payments cover at least 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax. That second figure rises to 110% if your 2025 AGI was over $150,000. Extra withholding in December counts as if it had been paid evenly through the year, so it’s a neat fix for a shortfall. The fourth estimated-tax payment for 2026 is normally due in mid-January 2027.

8. Use gifting and family accounts

• Annual exclusion gifts: give up to $19,000 per person in 2026 without using your lifetime exemption. The limit rises to $20,000 in 2027 (see the 2027 tax brackets and adjustments).
• 529 plans: from 2026 you can withdraw up to $20,000 a year tax-free for K-12 tuition.
• Trump Accounts: families can contribute up to $5,000 a year per child once the account is claimed. Contributions are after-tax, so they don’t cut this year’s bill. We explain claiming and the $1,000 Treasury seed in a separate guide.

9. Don’t count on expired energy credits

Most individual clean-energy credits have ended. The new and used EV credits stopped for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025. Credits for rooftop solar and home efficiency improvements ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. Don’t make a late-2026 purchase expecting one of these credits. Unused residential clean-energy credits from earlier years may still carry forward.

Quick printable year-end tax checklist

• [ ] Raise 401(k) contributions before your last 2026 payroll
• [ ] Confirm Roth catch-up setup if you earned over $150,000
• [ ] Note the April 2027 deadline for IRA and HSA contributions
• [ ] Add up itemized deductions vs the standard deduction
• [ ] Make cash gifts (non-itemizers) or bunch gifts and donate stock (itemizers)
• [ ] Ask your IRA custodian about a QCD if you’re 70½+
• [ ] Review unrealized losses before December 31
• [ ] Check pay records for tips and overtime
• [ ] Adjust December withholding if you’re short

Want to go deeper? Read smart tax-saving tips for the USA and Canada and see how AI tax planning tools can flag missed deductions.

Software can help you spot missed items: see how AI tax software finds hidden deductions.

Year-end tax checklist FAQ

Conclusion

Year-end tax planning for 2026 is about acting before the deadlines. Raise your 401(k) contributions, choose between bunching and the standard deduction, give to charity under the new floor and non-itemizer rules, harvest losses and check your W-2 data. Each of these moves is simple, but together they can save a meaningful amount. If you have Opportunity Zone gains, equity compensation or a business, it’s worth booking a session with a tax professional in the next few weeks.