September may feel early to start talking about year-end financial planning, but the final few months of the year can be one of the most important planning periods for investors and retirees.
Once December arrives, there may not be much time left to implement certain strategies. That makes September and October a good time to review your investments, retirement accounts and tax situation.
Here are six areas worth reviewing before 2026 comes to a close.
1. Make Sure Your RMD Is Covered
If you are subject to Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), don't leave them until the final days of December.
RMDs generally begin at age 73 and apply to traditional IRAs and many employer-sponsored retirement accounts. Most annual RMDs must be completed by December 31.
Missing an RMD can also result in an IRS excise tax, making this one of the easiest year-end mistakes to avoid with some advance planning.
Beyond simply taking the distribution, we should consider how the RMD fits into your overall income and tax strategy.
2. Look at Roth Conversions
For some investors, particularly retirees who have significant traditional IRA balances, the final months of the year can be a good time to evaluate a Roth conversion.
A Roth conversion means moving money from a pre-tax retirement account into a Roth account and recognizing the converted amount as taxable income today.
Why voluntarily pay taxes?
Because the goal isn't necessarily to minimize this year's tax bill. The goal is to manage taxes over your entire retirement.
A partial Roth conversion may make sense if you have room within a lower tax bracket today and expect higher taxable income later because of RMDs, pensions, Social Security or other income.
However, conversions need to be coordinated carefully because additional income can affect other areas of your financial plan, including Medicare premiums.
3. Review Capital Gains and Losses
Markets don't move in a straight line, and individual investments can have very different results during the same year.
That creates an opportunity to review taxable investment accounts.
If you have investments trading below their purchase price, realizing certain losses may help offset realized capital gains elsewhere in your portfolio. Conversely, there may be situations where intentionally realizing a gain makes sense.
The important point is that taxes shouldn't dictate your investment strategy, but they should be considered as part of it.
4. Review Charitable Giving
If charitable giving is already part of your plan, don't automatically reach for your checkbook.
Depending on your circumstances, there may be more tax-efficient ways to give.
For example, some investors may benefit from donating appreciated securities rather than cash. IRA owners who qualify may also be able to make Qualified Charitable Distributions directly from an IRA.
The objective is still supporting organizations that matter to you, but the way you make the gift can potentially improve the tax efficiency of your overall plan.
5. Take Advantage of Your Retirement Plan
If you're still working, check how much you've contributed to your employer retirement plan so far this year.
There is still time to adjust contributions before your final paychecks of 2026.
This is especially important for people who received raises, bonuses or other additional income during the year and may have more capacity to save than they did when they originally selected their contribution percentage.
Also review whether you're contributing on a traditional pre-tax or Roth basis. The right answer depends on your individual tax situation.
6. Start Thinking About Your 2026 Tax Return Now
Tax preparation and tax planning are two different things.
Tax preparation happens after the year is over. Tax planning happens while you can still do something about it.
For 2026, the federal standard deduction is $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, $16,100 for single filers and $24,150 for heads of household.
But deductions are only one piece of the puzzle.
Investment income, retirement distributions, Roth conversions, charitable giving and other financial decisions can interact with one another. That's why we prefer to look at the entire financial picture rather than making each decision independently.
The Bottom Line
December 31 creates an important dividing line in financial planning.
Once the calendar turns to January, many opportunities available for 2026 are gone.
That's why the next few months are a good time to ask:
Am I taking advantage of the planning opportunities available to me before the year ends?
At Northern Peak Financial, we believe financial planning should be proactive rather than reactive. If you haven't reviewed your retirement income, investments or tax strategy recently, now is a good time to schedule a year-end review.
Schedule a meeting with our team to review your 2026 plan and make sure you're positioned appropriately heading into 2027.
This material is for general informational purposes only and is not intended as individualized tax, legal, or investment advice. Consult the appropriate professionals regarding your individual circumstances.
Traditional IRA account owners have considerations to make before performing a Roth IRA conversion. These primarily include income tax consequences on the converted amount in the year of conversion, withdrawal limitations from a Roth IRA, and income limitations for future contributions to a Roth IRA. In addition, if you are required to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) in the year you convert, you must do so before converting to a Roth IRA.