End-of-Year Financial Checklist

Still, the close of the year may be the perfect time to evaluate, assess, and strategize so you finish 2026 strong and step into 2027 with clarity. While we can’t help with the holiday hustle, we can help with your financial year-end checklist. Some financial planning opportunities have December 31 deadlines, while others simply make sense to revisit before a new year begins. Taking time now to review your tax picture, investments, charitable giving, retirement accounts and other areas of your financial life may help you identify opportunities while there is still time to act.

Here are some areas to consider as 2026 comes to a close.

Cash Flow & Liquidity

• Take a look at how your spending, savings and cash needs have changed over the past year and what you anticipate for 2027.
• Revisit the financial goals you set at the beginning of the year. Consider what you accomplished, what may have changed and whether any unfinished goals should remain priorities in 2027.
• Put year-end windfalls to work. If you receive a bonus, business distribution or other additional income, consider how it fits into your broader plan. Depending on your circumstances, that could mean adding to cash reserves, investing, paying down debt, funding retirement accounts or setting aside money for a significant upcoming expense.
• 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.
• Consider your expected cash needs for 2027. Large purchases, tuition, travel, a home project or other significant expenses may require planning ahead so you have sufficient liquidity without having to sell investments at an inopportune time.

Year-End Tax Planning

Taxes are an important part of year-end planning, particularly because some strategies must be completed by December 31. Changes in your income, investments or personal circumstances may create planning opportunities that are worth discussing with your financial advisor and tax professional before year-end.

• Consider whether a Roth conversion may fit into your long-term tax strategy. Converting assets from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA creates taxable income in the year of the conversion, but it may make sense during years when your taxable income is lower or when you have room within a particular tax bracket. A conversion may also affect Medicare income-related monthly adjustment amounts (IRMAA), the taxation of Social Security benefits and other aspects of your tax picture, making it important to evaluate more than just the immediate tax cost.
• Consider whether investment gains or losses present tax-planning opportunities: If you have investments trading below their cost basis, tax-loss harvesting may allow you to use losses to offset realized capital gains and potentially a limited amount of ordinary income. Be mindful of the wash-sale rule if you plan to reinvest.
• In some situations, intentionally realizing capital gains may also make sense. Your advisor and tax professional can help you evaluate whether accelerating or deferring gains, income or deductions may be beneficial based on your current and expected future tax situation.
• If you experienced a significant income event during the year, such as a bonus, business income, equity compensation, investment gains, a Roth conversion or the sale of property, it may be worthwhile to revisit your federal and state tax withholding or estimated tax payments.

Review Your Investment Portfolio

Year-end is also an opportunity to step back from short-term market movements and consider whether your portfolio still reflects your financial plan.

• Consider whether market performance or changes in your circumstances have affected your target asset allocation. Rebalancing may help bring your investments back in line with your desired level of risk and long-term objectives.
• If a single stock or other investment represents a significant portion of your portfolio, consider whether the level of concentration remains appropriate for your overall financial plan. Taxes and other factors may influence whether and how that position should be reduced.
• Consider how your investment and charitable plans may work together. Highly appreciated securities may provide an opportunity to support charitable organizations while potentially avoiding capital gains taxes that could result from selling the investment first.

Giving & Gifting

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

The rules surrounding charitable deductions changed for 2026, making it particularly important to consider how and when you give.

Standard Deduction: In 2026, the standard deduction is $32,200 for married couples filing jointly and $16,100 for single filers. Beginning in 2026, taxpayers who take the standard deduction may also be able to deduct up to $1,000 in qualifying cash charitable contributions, or $2,000 for married couples filing jointly, subject to certain limitations.

For taxpayers who itemize, new rules may also affect the amount of charitable contributions that are deductible. This makes coordinating charitable gifts with your broader tax plan especially important.

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): If you are age 70½ 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 can be especially valuable for retirees who no longer itemize deductions but still want their giving to be tax-efficient.

If you are also subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs), a QCD potentially may count toward satisfying all or part of your RMD for the year. If charitable giving is part of your plan, it may be worth considering how QCDs and RMDs work together before taking additional IRA distributions.

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 increase your itemized deductions in the year of the contribution. 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.

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 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 potentially reducing concentrated positions in your portfolio.

Keep in mind that year-end charitable gifts, particularly gifts of securities, may take time to process. Starting well before December 31 can help avoid missing year-end deadlines.

Family Gifting & Wealth Transfer

Annual Exclusion Gifts: In 2026, you may gift up to $19,000 per recipient under the annual federal gift tax exclusion without using any portion of your lifetime estate and gift tax exemption. Married couples may potentially transfer up to $38,000 per recipient when each spouse makes a qualifying gift. 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 may help reduce the size of a taxable estate while supporting family members during their lifetimes.

If gifting is part of a larger estate or wealth-transfer strategy, year-end may be a good time to consider whether outright gifts or other strategies best align with your goals. Depending on your goals, funding education, contributing to trusts or using other wealth-transfer strategies may warrant discussion with your financial advisor, CPA and estate planning attorney.

Retirement Plan Contributions

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 2026:

Workplace Retirement Plans (401(k), 403(b), 457, TSP): For 2026, you can contribute up to $24,500 in elective deferrals. If you’re age 50 or older by year-end and your plan allows it, you can also make up to $8,000 in catch-up contributions, for a total of $32,500.

Participants aged 60-63 during 2026 are eligible for a higher catch-up contribution limit of $11,250, for a potential total employee contribution of $35,750. Different rules may apply to certain governmental 457(b) plans.

Beginning in 2026, some higher-earning employees who make catch-up contributions may be required to make those contributions on a Roth basis. If this rule may apply to you, consider reviewing your plan elections and how Roth catch-up contributions fit within your broader tax and retirement strategy.

Solo 401(k): For business owners, the same employee deferral limits apply, with the added flexibility of making employer contributions up until your tax filing deadline (including extensions), subject to applicable plan and tax rules. This can be a valuable way to reduce taxable income while building retirement savings.

IRAs (Traditional and Roth): You can contribute up to $7,500 in 2026. If you are age 50 or older, you may contribute an additional $1,100 catch-up contribution, for a total of $8,600. Contributions for the 2026 tax year can generally be made until April 15, 2027. Whether your contribution is deductible, or whether you’re eligible for a Roth IRA, depends on your income and other factors.

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): If you’re enrolled in an HSA-eligible high-deductible health plan, HSAs remain one of the most tax-advantaged savings tools available. You can contribute up to $4,400 for individual coverage or $8,750 for family coverage in 2026, plus an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution if you’re age 55 or older. Contributions can generally be made until April 15, 2027. 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.

Required Minimum Distributions

If you are subject to required minimum distributions, year-end is an important time to make sure the required amount will be completed by the applicable deadline. RMDs generally must be completed by December 31, although different timing rules apply to an individual’s first RMD. Missing an RMD may result in an excise tax, so this is one deadline that deserves particular attention.

If charitable giving is also part of your plan, consider whether using QCDs to satisfy some or all of your RMD may make sense for your situation.

Healthcare, Insurance & Benefits

Year-end and open enrollment periods are a good time to review whether your healthcare coverage, insurance and employee benefits still align with your needs.

• Consider whether your employer benefits and health insurance elections for 2027 still fit your circumstances, including HSA or flexible spending account elections where applicable.
• If you are enrolled in Medicare, annual open enrollment provides an opportunity to consider whether your existing coverage continues to meet your needs. Plans, premiums, prescription drug coverage and out-of-pocket costs can change from year to year.
• If you purchase health insurance through the ACA Marketplace, consider how your projected 2027 income may affect eligibility for premium tax credits and other coverage decisions.
• Changes in your family, income, assets or liabilities may also be a reason to revisit life, disability, long-term care, umbrella or property and casualty insurance coverage.

Estate Plan & Beneficiary Review

You don’t necessarily need to revisit your entire estate plan every December, but year-end is a good time to ask whether anything significant has changed during the year.

Marriage, divorce, a birth or death in the family, an inheritance, a move to another state, the sale or purchase of a business or property, or a significant change in wealth may warrant a conversation with your estate planning attorney and financial advisor.

If you experienced a significant life change, consider whether your beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance policies and other accounts still reflect your wishes and remain consistent with your broader estate plan.

It may also be helpful to make sure the people who may need to step in on your behalf know how to access important financial, legal and estate information if needed.

Look Ahead to 2027

Year-end planning isn’t only about meeting December deadlines. It’s also an opportunity to look ahead. Consider whether any major financial decisions are on the horizon in 2027, such as retirement, a move, the sale of a business or property, a significant purchase, helping family members financially or making a large charitable gift.

Identifying those decisions now gives you and your advisory team time to plan proactively and consider how one decision may affect other areas of your financial life.

Wrapping Up

Not every item on this checklist will apply to you. The value of year-end planning is identifying which opportunities and decisions are most relevant to your individual circumstances. Your Modera advisor can help you consider those priorities and, when appropriate, coordinate with your CPA, estate attorney and other professionals.