It’s the end of the year, and your to‑do list is a mile long. Between holiday gatherings, cooking, cleaning, and gift buying, finances may not be top of mind.
Still, the close of the year may be the perfect time to evaluate, assess, and strategize so you finish 2025 strong and step into 2026 with clarity. While we can’t help with the holiday hustle, we can help with your financial year‑end checklist. Here are a few quick (and some not‑so‑quick) suggestions to help you end this year on a high note and start next year strong.
Revisit your target spending and savings goals and your emergency fund.
• Avoid the holiday shopping hangover. Assess your holiday spending estimates. Be realistic when thinking about how much you plan to spend this upcoming holiday season and avoid the temptation of taking on credit card debt.
• Revisit the financial goals you set at the beginning of the year (remember those?). Check off what you’ve accomplished and plan action steps for those still in progress.
• Put year‑end windfalls to work. Bonuses or extra income can boost savings or fund long‑term goals.
• If you’re struggling to meet your financial goals, it might be time to check in on your employment status. What is your real earning potential? If your goals are misaligned with your current earning reality it might be time to consider some changes.
• Take a look at your emergency savings. Have your spending patterns or other circumstances changed over the past twelve months? If you bought a new house, took on new debt, changed jobs, or if your household added or lost an income stream you may want to adjust your emergency savings to meet your new reality.
• Request your free annual credit report. Spot errors or fraud and look for ways to improve your credit score. You can receive a free credit report from all three agencies through https://www.annualcreditreport.com every 12 months. Review the accounts opened for any incorrect or fraudulent activity, and look for ways to improve your credit score, if you have less than excellent credit.
There may be ways for you to realize tax savings, depending on your situation. Meet with your accountant and financial advisor to discuss if the following strategies will work for you.
Charitable Giving
Standard Deduction (2025): The standard deduction has increased to $31,500 for married couples filing jointly and $15,750 for single filers. This means that unless your itemized deductions—including charitable contributions—exceed these thresholds, you may not receive a tax benefit for your gifts. For many households, this makes strategic planning around charitable giving especially important, as the deduction hurdle is higher than in prior years.
Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): If you are age 70.5 or older, you can make charitable gifts directly from your IRA. These QCDs are excluded from taxable income, which can reduce your adjusted gross income and potentially lower Medicare premiums or minimize taxation of Social Security benefits. This strategy is particularly valuable for retirees who no longer itemize deductions but still want their giving to be tax‑efficient.
Donor‑Advised Funds (DAFs): A donor‑advised fund allows you to consolidate or “bunch” several years’ worth of charitable contributions into a single tax year. By doing so, you may exceed the standard deduction threshold and maximize your itemized deductions. Once the fund is established, you can recommend grants to charities over time, potentially spreading the impact of your giving while capturing the tax benefit upfront. This approach may be especially useful for families who want flexibility in timing their gifts.
Appreciated Stock: Donating publicly traded stock or other appreciated securities directly to a charity can be one of the most tax‑efficient ways to give. You can avoid paying capital gains tax on the appreciation, and you may be able to deduct the full fair market value of the gift if you itemize. This strategy allows you to support causes you care about while simultaneously reducing concentrated positions in your portfolio.
Annual Exclusion Gifts: In 2025, you may gift up to $19,000 per recipient (or $38,000 per recipient for married couples splitting gifts) without tapping into your lifetime estate and gift tax exemption. These annual exclusion gifts can be a simple, effective way to transfer wealth to children, grandchildren, or other loved ones. Over time, consistent annual gifting could significantly reduce the size of a taxable estate while supporting family members during their lifetimes.
Planning ahead for retirement and healthcare savings can make a big difference—not just for your future, but for your tax picture today. Here are the key limits and opportunities to keep in mind for 2025:
Workplace Retirement Plans (401(k), 403(b), 457, TSP): For 2025, you can contribute up to $23,500 in elective deferrals. If you’re age 50 or older by year-end and your plan allows it, you can also make up to $7,500 in regular catch-up contributions, for a total of $31,000.
Beginning in 2025, some 401(k) and 403(b) plans may offer an enhanced catch-up limit for participants ages 60–63, allowing up to $11,250 in catch-up contributions for a total of $34,750, depending on whether the plan adopts the higher limit.
This enhanced catch-up does not apply to 457(b) plans or the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), which continue to offer only the standard age-50 catch-up (and 457(b) plans keep their own final-three-years special catch-up rule).
Contributions must generally be made by December 31, 2025.
Solo 401(k): For business owners, the same contribution limits as listed above apply, with the added flexibility of making employer contributions up until your tax filing deadline (including extensions). This can be a valuable way to reduce taxable income while building retirement savings.
IRAs (Traditional and Roth): You can contribute up to $7,000 in 2025, or $8,000 if you’re age 50 or older. Contributions for the 2025 tax year can be made until April 15, 2026. Whether your contribution is deductible—or whether you’re eligible for a Roth—depends on your income and other factors, so it’s worth reviewing with your advisor before making deposits.
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): If you’re enrolled in a high‑deductible health plan, HSAs remain one of the most tax‑advantaged savings tools available. You can contribute up to $4,300 for individual coverage or $8,550 for family coverage in 2025, plus an extra $1,000 if you’re age 55 or older. Contributions can be made until April 15, 2026. HSAs offer a triple tax benefit: contributions are pre‑tax (or deductible), growth is tax‑free, and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax‑free.
Feeling overwhelmed? You don’t have to tackle this alone. Give us a call—we’ll help you sort through which items apply to your situation and how they may align with your financial goals in 2026.
From all of us at Modera, thank you for letting us be part of your financial journey. We wish you a joyful holiday season and a bright start to the new year
Modera Wealth Management, LLC (Modera) is an SEC-registered investment adviser. SEC registration does not imply any level of skill or training. For information pertaining to our registration status, the fees we charge including how we are compensated and by whom, additional costs that may be incurred, our conflicts of interest, any disclosed disciplinary events of the Firm or its personnel, and the types of services we offer, please contact us directly or refer to the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure web site (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov) to obtain a copy of our disclosure statement, Form ADV Part 2A, and ADV Part 3/Form CRS. In addition, our Privacy Notice outlines how we handle your non-public personal information. Please read these documents carefully before you make a decision to hire Modera, invest or send money.
This material is limited to the dissemination of general information about Modera’s investment advisory and financial planning services that is not suitable for everyone. Nothing herein should be interpreted or construed as investment advice nor as legal, tax or accounting advice nor as personalized financial planning, tax planning or wealth management advice. For legal, tax and accounting-related matters, we recommend you seek the advice of a qualified attorney or accountant. This material is not a substitute for personalized investment or financial planning from Modera. There is no guarantee that the views and opinions expressed herein will come to pass, and the information herein should not be considered a solicitation to engage in a particular investment or financial planning strategy. The statements and opinions expressed in this material are relevant as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice based on changes in the law and other conditions.
Investing in the markets involves gains and losses and may not be suitable for all investors. Information herein is subject to change without notice and should not be considered a solicitation to buy or sell any security or to engage in a particular investment or financial planning strategy. Individual client asset allocations and investment strategies differ based on varying degrees of diversification and other factors. Diversification does not guarantee a profit or guarantee against a loss.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.
