8 Smart Financial Planning Moves to Make Before Year-End 2025

As 2025 winds down, many of us are eyeing the finish line: closing out a busy year, wrapping up projects, and maybe even planning some well-deserved downtime. But before you break for the holidays, it’s worth checking in on your finances. This year isn’t just another year-end. It’s the first full tax year under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), a sweeping law that made some of the Trump-era tax provisions permanent but also introduced a handful of new deduction limits, phaseouts, and planning nuances.

With new rules on the horizon, 2025 offers a limited window to optimize your tax, investment, and giving strategies. Here are eight practical, high-impact steps to take before December 31 to set yourself up for a stronger financial future.

Consider the following year-end planning moves:

#1: Rethink Your Income Timing Strategy

For many years, year-end planning involved accelerating income while tax rates were low, before they expire. However, thanks to OBBBA, those lower individual tax brackets (10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%) are now permanent. That removes the “sunset panic” many of us once had.

Still, timing matters. Even though rates are stable, your effective tax rate may not be. New deduction limits, state tax phaseouts, and alternative minimum tax (AMT) adjustments can shift the real bite you feel at tax time.

If you expect higher income or more limited deductions in 2026, it may make sense to accelerate certain income like bonuses, business receipts, or exercising stock options into 2025. Conversely, if your income may dip next year, deferring some income or accelerating deductions could help smooth your total liability.

#2: Max Out Your Retirement and Health Accounts

Accounts like 401(k)s, IRAs, and HSAs are some of the simplest ways to build lasting financial strength, and the sooner you fund them, the more they can work for you. Here’s where to focus your contributions before the deadline:

• 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b). The annual contribution limit for 2025 is $23,500, with additional catch-up contributions for those 50 and older.
• IRA or Roth IRA. If you qualify, you have until April 15, 2026, to make 2025 contributions. But don’t wait till the last minute; funding earlier means more tax-deferred growth.
• Health Savings Account (HSA). If you’re enrolled in a high-deductible health plan, your HSA contributions are triple tax-advantaged. That means they’re deductible when contributed, tax-free as they grow, and tax-free when used for qualified medical expenses.

If you’re a business owner, review your company’s retirement plan too. A Solo 401(k) or SEP-IRA could allow you to save far more than you can as an employee, often reducing both income and self-employment taxes.

#3: Take Advantage of the Expanded SALT Deduction

If you live in a high-tax state like California, the SALT deduction (for state and local taxes) has long been a sore spot, capped at just $10,000 since 2018. Fortunately, OBBBA has changed that, at least temporarily.

For tax years 2025 through 2029, the SALT deduction cap rises to $40,000 for most households, though the benefit phases out for joint filers with modified AGI over $500,000. The deduction can’t fall below $10,000, and both the cap and income threshold will rise slightly each year with inflation.

This gives you a rare window to reclaim a portion of your state and property taxes on your federal return.

If you’re itemizing, coordinate the timing of property tax payments or state estimated payments so they post before year-end. For business owners, consider whether electing into your state’s Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET) regime could unlock even more deductibility.

#4: Front-Load Charitable Giving While Rules Are Favorable

If charitable giving is part of your plan, 2025 is a pivotal year to act. Starting in 2026, the OBBBA introduces new charitable-deduction limits:

• Only the portion of itemized charitable contributions above 0.5% of AGI will be deductible.
• Non-itemizers will be able to deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 for married filing jointly) in cash gifts, but not to donor-advised funds (DAFs).
• For those in the top tax bracket, the value of your charitable deductions will be capped at 35%, down from the current 37%.

If you’ve been considering a large donation, funding a DAF in 2025 lets you claim the full deduction now while granting the money over time. You can also “bunch” multiple years’ worth of contributions into one high-impact tax year to maximize itemizing benefits.

#5: Review Your Investment Gains and Losses

The stock market has indeed had a volatile year. However, volatility can be an ally when it comes to tax planning.

If you’ve realized gains from stock sales, option exercises, or the sale of a business, look for opportunities to harvest losses elsewhere in your portfolio to offset them. Alternatively, if you have highly appreciated assets but expect your effective tax rate to rise next year (due to income growth or deduction loss), consider selectively realizing long-term capital gains in 2025 while the current rates remain favorable.

A strategic portfolio rebalance now can help lower your tax bill while keeping your investments aligned with your long-term goals. Just be mindful of the wash-sale rule: if you sell a security at a loss, you can’t buy a substantially identical one within 30 days. If you work with a financial planner, they’ll typically manage these details for you to ensure every move is both tax-smart and compliant.

#6: Reassess Your Business Structure and Tax Strategy

The 20% Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction remains a central benefit for many pass-through entities (LLCs, S corps, partnerships) under the OBBBA, but income thresholds, wage limitations, and phaseouts continue to apply. Now is an opportune time to sit down with your CPA to confirm your entity structure is still optimal:

• Does your S-corp or LLC classification maximize deductions and minimize self-employment taxes?
• Would incorporating or changing your compensation mix reduce future liability?
• Can you leverage PTET elections or bonus depreciation to your advantage?

Use this period to plan purchases, bonuses, and retirement contributions deliberately, not reactively. By planning ahead, you can manage both taxes and cash flow more efficiently.

#7: Revisit Your Estate, Gift, and Wealth-Transfer Plan

One of the biggest question marks in prior years was whether the historically high estate-tax exemption would revert in 2026. OBBBA answered that: it’s now permanent.

The lifetime gift and estate tax exemption remains elevated ($13.99 million per individual in 2025 and projected to climb toward $15 million in 2026, indexed for inflation). This provides a window of opportunity to refine your strategy if necessary.

Before year-end, consider whether you should:

• Make annual exclusion gifts ($19,000 per recipient in 2025).
• Use trusts (like SLATs, GRATs, or CRUTs) to transfer appreciating assets out of your estate.
• Begin business-succession planning while valuations are favorable.

#8: Double-Check Withholding and Estimated Payments

It’s easy to forget this step, but for many high earners, it’s one of the most practical ways to protect your cash flow. Even though federal rates haven’t increased, your effective tax could, particularly if you’re losing deductions or entering new phaseouts.

Use your most recent pay stub or profit-and-loss statement to project 2025 taxable income. Then, make sure your withholding and quarterly payments are on track. If you’ve had a high-income year—for example, from a bonus, liquidity event, or business windfall—you may need to make an extra estimated payment before January 15 to avoid penalties.

Get Ahead of Year-End Planning with SageMint Wealth

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act may have brought a new sense of stability to the tax code, but that makes proactive planning even more valuable. Acting before year-end allows you to take advantage of current opportunities, reduce uncertainty, and move into 2026 with confidence.

At SageMint Wealth, we help you turn financial complexity into clarity, identifying the strategies that matter most for your life, your goals, and your legacy. Whether it’s optimizing taxes, aligning your investments, or designing a plan for long-term growth and giving, our team is here to guide you every step of the way.

Now is the time to take action while the window is open. Contact us today to ensure your plan is positioned for a stronger, more confident future.