Planning Moves to Consider Before Year-End | 2026
After a year of adapting to major tax-law changes and new planning opportunities, year-end offers a natural time to revisit both short and long-term goals. As you close out 2026 and look toward 2027, consider these moves for building and managing your savings, planning for life’s changes, and passing on your legacy.
Building and Managing Your Savings
While how you invest is an important part of building a nest egg, the first step is putting that money aside. A variety of new opportunities and elevated contribution limits increased the amount you can contribute towards retirement for 2026, so make sure your savings are keeping pace with the higher levels. If you turned 50 this year, beyond standard contributions, you’re also eligible to make an additional catch-up contribution to those accounts. If you’re between the ages of 60 and 63 you can contribute an additional amount to your employer-sponsored retirement plan. Don’t miss out on these opportunities to accelerate your savings as you approach retirement.
| Retirement Account | 2026 Base Contribution | Age 50+ Catch-Up Contribution | Age 60-63 Catch-Up Contribution |
| 401(k) | $24,500 | $8,000 | $3,250 |
| SIMPLE IRA | $17,000 | $4,000 | $1,250 |
| Traditional/Roth IRA | $7,500 | $1,100 | N/A |
Roth conversions remain a popular year-end topic. While this strategy can be a viable option – especially for those whose taxable income is lower this year, it comes with a lot of considerations worth discussing with your Baird Financial Advisor. Keep in mind that the conversion must be completed before year-end to be taxable this year, so don’t wait too long to have the conversation.
Beyond traditional retirement accounts, a Health Savings Account (HSA), can provide a tax-efficient way to prepare for medical expenses. HSAs are one of the most tax-advantaged savings tools we have available today, with tax deductible contributions and tax-free income later in life. Contribution limits increased for 2026, and as long as you have an eligible High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), you can open an account.
| HSA Coverage | 2026 Base Contribution | Age 55+ Catch-Up Contribution |
| Individual | $4,400 | $1,000 |
| Family | $8,750 | $1,000 |
After you’ve maximized your contributions to your retirement plans and other accounts, it’s important to check in from time to time to see how your portfolio is doing. After several years of positive overall market performance, your portfolio may have drifted from your target allocation, leaving you with more or less risk than intended. Year-end can be an opportunity to rebalance and to identify losses that may be used to offset gains this year or in the future.
Planning for Life’s Changes
Our lives can change quickly and dramatically, and the plans you put in place just a year or two ago can become out of date before you realize. Use year-end as a time to reassess where you are, what’s changed over the last year, what may be ahead, and whether your plan still reflects your needs.
For those establishing a financial foundation, your year-end priorities may include paying down student loans or other debt, building an emergency fund, saving for a first home, or preparing to start a family. Defining those priorities now can help you begin 2027 with clear goals and strong habits.
Other changes, including marriage, divorce, welcoming a new member to the family or suffering the loss of a loved one can carry significant financial implications. Your Baird Financial Advisor can help assess the impact to your plan and identify appropriate planning opportunities.
For those approaching or living in retirement, your focus may shift from accumulating assets to creating income. Consider reviewing when to claim Social Security and what your cash flow and liquidity needs will be. If you turned 73 this year, you’re also now subject to Required Minimum Distributions, or RMDs, from your IRAs and other retirement accounts.
No matter the stage of life, your physical and mental health is closely connected to your financial well-being. As you review your financial choices at year-end, consider the habits, coverage and planning decisions that can help you and your family remain healthy, active and independent throughout each stage of life.
Passing On Your Legacy
Your financial plan can also help you support the people and organizations that matter to you. For many families, this starts with making gifts to family members. For 2026, the annual gift tax exclusion increased to $19,000, and those gifts must be completed before year-end. In addition, the lifetime exemption amount also increased this year, meaning individuals can now shield up to $15 million from federal estate and gift tax.
Regardless of the size of your estate, it’s always a good idea to review your will, trusts, beneficiary designations, health care directives and other documents. Ensuring these are all up-to-date can go a long way toward making it easier for your heirs to manage an otherwise difficult time.
Trump Accounts offer a new way to save for minor children. These accounts include specific contribution and investment rules, as well as a $1,000 government contribution for eligible newborns. These accounts ultimately function much like an IRA. You may want to consider how these accounts fit alongside other strategies for children and grandchildren.
Charitable giving rules changed for 2026, making it important to consider what you give, how you give and which organizations you support. Strategies such as bunching contributions or donating appreciated stock may increase the tax value of a gift, while a donor-advised fund can provide flexibility over when assets are ultimately distributed to charities.
A Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD, can also allow eligible individuals to transfer funds directly from an IRA to charity without recognizing the distribution as income. The annual QCD limit increased to $111,000 for 2026. If you are over age 70½, discuss whether this approach could support your charitable goals in a tax-efficient way.
Whether you are giving to family members or to charity, now or in the future, your Baird Financial Advisor team can help you understand the available options and coordinate with your tax and legal professionals.
As we wrap up 2026 and begin to look towards 2027, take a moment to reflect on all that you’ve accomplished this year, both personally and financially, and what you’re looking forward to in the year ahead. Your Baird Financial Advisor team is here to help you stay on track along the way.
This article was originally published in October 2024 and updated in October 2026.
This information has been developed by a member of Baird Wealth Solutions Group, a team of wealth management specialists who provide support to Baird Financial Advisor teams. The information offered is provided to you for informational purposes only. Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated is not a legal or tax services provider and you are strongly encouraged to seek the advice of the appropriate professional advisors before taking any action. The information reflected on this page are Baird expert opinions today and are subject to change. The information provided here has not taken into consideration the investment goals or needs of any specific investor and investors should not make any investment decisions based solely on this information. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. All investments have some level of risk, and investors have different time horizons, goals and risk tolerances, so speak to your Baird Financial Advisor before taking action.
