Year-end financial checklist

Top 7 tips: Your year-end financial checklist

https://investor.vanguard.com/investor-resources-education/article/end-of-year-financial-checklist

October 15, 2025

1. Max out your retirement contributions for 2025

There’s still time to make 2025 contributions to your retirement accounts. However, you might not want to wait until the deadline to contribute. The sooner you contribute, the more time your money can grow and benefit from the power of compounding. You have until:

1. December 31, 2025, to contribute to your employer plan (SIMPLE and SEP-IRA contributions are allowed until the extension date if one is filed).
2. April 15, 2026, to contribute to your traditional or Roth IRAs.

Additional considerations

Don’t forget, your IRA contributions can’t exceed either your earned income for the year or the IRS-imposed limits, whichever amount is less. Roth IRAs tend to have stricter income limit ranges. If you exceed Roth IRA income limits, you may be eligible to set up a backdoor Roth IRA. If you don’t have income but are married to someone who does, you may be eligible to open a spousal IRA and have your spouse contribute on your behalf. Before you pursue these alternative options, make sure you explore the different Roth IRA rules and limits for each scenario.

Depending on your retirement account, you may be eligible for some additional tax deductions. Traditional employer-plan contributions generally come out of your pay on a pre-tax basis, which automatically reduces your taxable income. But IRA contributions work a little differently. While Roth IRA contributions are never tax-deductible, traditional IRA deductions vary based on your modified adjusted gross income and whether you’re covered by a retirement plan at work.

2. Take your required minimum distribution (RMD)

If you’re required to take your RMD, you’ll want to act before the end of the year to avoid paying a penalty. If you turned 73 this year and are taking an RMD for the first time, you have until April 1, 2026, to take your RMD. After that, you’ll need to take it before the end of each calendar year.

The IRS requires you to take RMDs from certain types of retirement accounts, such as traditional IRAs and qualified retirement accounts from a former employer. If you’re required to take an RMD, Vanguard will automatically calculate your RMD amount each year.

If you inherited an IRA on or after January 1, 2020, you might be subject to the 10-year rule. This means the account must be liquidated by the end of the 10th year following the year of the original owner’s death.

3. Reach your 529 education savings goals with a 2025 contribution

You have until December 31 to contribute to most states’ 529 education plans to qualify for a 529 plan tax deduction or credit. However, plans administered in Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin allow you to contribute until April 15 of the following year. And Iowa allows for contributions through April 30 of the following year.

529 plans are a great way to give the gift of education while reaping tax benefits too.

1. You can contribute up to $19,000 in 2025 for single filers ($38,000 if married filing jointly) per beneficiary without triggering the federal gift tax.
2. You may be able to deduct your contributions from your state income tax (or get a state tax credit) depending on where you live.1
3. If you want to contribute more to a 529 account in a single year, you can “superfund” the account without it counting against your lifetime gift tax exemption. By superfunding a 529, you can make up to 5 years’ worth of contributions ($95,000 for 2025) all at once to reduce your taxable estate.

You can also make unlimited payments directly to educational institutions on behalf of others for qualified expenses without incurring a gift tax or affecting your $19,000 gift exclusion. This method is a great way to help a loved one pay for their education.

For example, say you wanted to pay your grandchild’s $50,000 tuition toward her medical degree. You could pay her tuition directly to the school and still give her an additional $19,000 tax-free. This strategy reduces your taxable estate and helps preserve your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption.

4. Complete a Roth conversion by December 31, 2025

You have until the end of this year to complete a Roth conversion for the 2025 tax year.

Roth IRAs offer many benefits, including tax-free growth and tax-free distributions, assuming you’re age 59½ and you’ve held the account for at least 5 years. There are also no RMDs, making it easier to leave a tax-free inheritance to your heirs. But there are some additional tax considerations to keep in mind when considering a conversion.

A conversion is a taxable event

Since a conversion is a taxable event, there are a few things you might want to consider first. When converting assets from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, there are no income restrictions, and you don’t have to convert the entire amount at once. Since you’ll owe ordinary income taxes on any pre-tax amounts, partial conversions make it easier to spread out your tax payments over 2 or more years. To avoid paying a higher tax rate, you may want to consider converting an amount that keeps you in your current tax bracket. Depending on your home state, you may also have to pay state income taxes on a conversion.

Timing matters

Deciding when to convert often hinges on whether your tax rate will be higher now or in the future. If you believe your tax rate is lower now than it’ll be when you start taking withdrawals, a conversion may be beneficial. You’ll pay conversion income taxes now while you’re in a lower tax bracket, and you’ll enjoy tax-free Roth IRA withdrawals later when the higher tax bracket won’t matter.

Ways to manage conversion taxes

If you’re 73 or older, you’ll need to satisfy your RMD before converting, which will result in a taxable event. However, taking advantage of a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) can help ease the overall tax burden associated with a conversion.

Tax deductions for charitable contributions and tax credits that might otherwise be carried into future years can also help offset the taxes generated by a conversion. The IRS requires you to use the combined total of all your IRAs, no matter which ones you’re converting, to determine how much of the money is taxable.

5. Take advantage of charitable giving tax benefits

Charitable giving offers a way to financially support your favorite charities while enjoying tax benefits that accompany your generosity.

Charitable tax deductions

For charitable donations made by December 31, 2025, you can deduct up to 60% of your 2025 adjusted gross income (AGI) for cash gifts made to a qualifying charity (which excludes private foundations and supporting organizations). The deduction is usually limited to 30% of your AGI for noncash contributions such as appreciated stock gifts and donations to qualifying private foundations or organizations.

Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)

If you’re 70½ or older, you can take up to $108,000 annually from your traditional IRA to donate directly to a qualified charity without paying taxes—the QCD is simply excluded from your taxable income. If you’re age 73 and don’t need to live off your RMD income, the benefit is twofold—it can help you meet your RMD requirement and reap the tax benefits. You may have to withdraw more depending on your actual RMD amount.

Note: If you make a QCD, you won’t be able to claim a charitable deduction with those same assets.

The Secure Act 2.0—signed into law in December 2022—includes a onetime election for a QCD to a split-interest entity. This allows you to make a QCD of up to $54,000 to fund either a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT), charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT), or charitable gift annuity (CGA). Consult your tax advisor and estate planner to see if this makes sense for you.

6. Assess your investment portfolio and asset mix

The end of the year is a good time to check your asset allocation and rebalance your portfolio if needed. Assess whether your current allocation is right for your goals or if you need to shift your portfolio to be more conservative or aggressive, depending on your risk tolerance and goal time horizon. You’ll also want to check if there are opportunities to consolidate any similar investments within an account or add any investment types you might be missing to balance out your mix. While reviewing your asset allocation, consider whether you have any realized capital gains this year, as you may benefit from tax-loss harvesting.2

It’s also a good time to check on other savings accounts you may have, like a health savings account (HSA) or emergency fund. If you have an HSA to save for medical expenses, it’s a good idea to max out your contributions. Investing early lets you take full advantage of tax-advantaged compounding. The biggest advantage of HSAs is their triple tax benefit: Contributions can be tax-deductible, your savings grow tax-free within the account, and qualified withdrawals are tax-free.3

If you haven’t already, you might want to consider setting money aside as an emergency fund for unexpected events. It’s also good to replenish your emergency savings if you’ve had to tap into them.

7. Review your insurance and beneficiaries

The end of the year is a good time to make sure you’re up to date on the following:

1. Update your beneficiaries if necessary.
2. Review your insurance policies, like homeowners, auto, life, and more.
3. Review your health insurance or Medicare elections and update them if needed during the open enrollment period.

If you’re not sure whether the tax scenarios mentioned in this article are right for you, we encourage you to contact a tax professional or visit our tax center and review commonly asked tax questions.

9 important money moves to make before the end of the year

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/personal-finance/banking/article/end-of-year-money-moves-204612944.html

Bob Haegele

Updated Mon, November 3, 2025 at 6:18 PM EST

Start 2026 off on solid financial footing by checking off these tasks by year-end.

The end of the year is more than just holiday parties and last-minute shopping—it’s also your chance to give your finances a strong finish. Before the calendar flips, there are a few smart money moves that can help you lower your tax bill, boost your savings, and set yourself up for a more secure 2026.

9 end-of-year money moves to tackle now

Completing these banking tasks before year-end can help set you up for financial success in 2025.

1. Perform a budget checkup

Creating a budget is crucial, but it shouldn’t be set in stone. Your financial situation and priorities may have changed since the start of 2025.

Compare your monthly spending amounts with the amount you expected to spend. Did you spend more, less, or about the same?

If you spent more than you expected, you may need to come up with a plan to reduce your spending and/or increase your income in 2025. Alternatively, if you spent less than expected, it may be time to bump up your savings and investment contributions.

2. Shore up your emergency fund

Maintaining an emergency fund is one of the most important steps you can take to protect the health of your finances.

Why? Without an adequate emergency fund, you might be forced to turn to credit cards or other forms of high-interest debt if you lose your job, experience a medical emergency, or are surprised with a major unplanned expense.

To prevent this from happening, experts typically recommend having enough liquid funds to cover at least 3 to 6 months’ worth of living expenses. But if you are self-employed or have an unpredictable income, you may need more.

So, take a look at your current savings and decide whether you need to work on building a bigger safety net. If so, determine how much you can afford to set aside each month and start contributing to a high-yield savings account that you can easily access when needed.

3. Use up FSA money

A flexible spending account (FSA) is an employee benefit that allows you to set aside money for healthcare expenses. The money in an FSA is contributed pre-tax, and you can use it to cover qualifying expenses such as deductibles, co-payments, coinsurance, and some drugs.

FSA contributions are limited to $3,300 per year. If you are married, your spouse can contribute the same amount through their employer’s plan.

While FSAs can provide tax savings for eligible healthcare expenses, you generally must use the money in the account within the plan year. If you don’t, you may lose the money in the plan (though some employers offer leeway in the form of grace periods or carry-overs).

If you currently have money sitting in your FSA, consider using the remaining funds before the end of the year. Contact your employer for details about which expenses are covered under your plan.

4. Audit your subscriptions and cancel the ones you don’t use

According to C&R Research, the average consumer spends about $219 per month on subscriptions. However, the same consumers estimated they only spent $86 per month. This subscription creep could be costing you over $2,500 per year without even realizing it.

Review your bank and credit card statements to spot subscriptions you rarely use (or even forgot you had) and cancel them. To simplify the process, consider using a service like Rocket Money to identify recurring subscription costs.

5. Make health appointments before your deductible resets

Your deductible on an insurance plan is the amount you must pay out of pocket before your insurance provider starts to pay. These deductibles generally reset on Jan. 1.

If you have already reached your deductible for the year, take advantage of reduced health costs and make any outstanding medical appointments by the end of the year. If you wait until next year, you’ll once again need to reach your deductible before insurance kicks in.

See How do Health insurance plans and Dental insurance plans work?

6. Max out tax-advantaged accounts

Accounts that offer tax advantages, such as 401(k)s, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and health savings accounts (HSAs), are powerful ways to save and invest. Contributions to these accounts reduce your taxable income, helping you get a bigger refund — or at least, a lower tax bill — when you file taxes in April.

You have until April 15, 2026 to contribute the maximum allowable amount for tax year 2025. So, if possible, aim to max out your contributions by the deadline, if not sooner. If that’s not financially possible, but your employer offers matching contributions on your 401(k) or similar plan, make sure you are at least contributing enough to get the highest match available.

7. Re-evaluate taxable investment accounts

While often not as critical as tax-advantaged accounts, taxable brokerage accounts have benefits. One of the biggest is the ability to make penalty-free withdrawals at any time. Additionally, you often have more freedom in investment selection than you would with a 401(k).

If you invest using taxable accounts through an online brokerage or elsewhere, there are some basic tasks you should do at least once a year. Perhaps the most important is rebalancing, which involves selling investments above your target allocation and buying ones below your target allocation. You can also perform tax-loss harvesting, selling underperforming investments to offset capital gains.

8. Pay down high-interest debt

High-interest debt can significantly strain your finances, so reducing or eliminating it can help you start off 2026 on better financial footing.

Fortunately, debt reduction doesn’t have to be all or nothing. If you’re currently making the minimum payment on your credit card bill, consider paying just an extra $50 monthly. This will help reduce your balance faster and significantly lower the amount of interest you pay in the long run.

9. Consider refinancing

If you are currently making monthly payments on a large loan, such as a car loan or mortgage, check your current interest rate against today’s rates. The Federal Reserve recently cut the federal funds rate, which means interest rates on loans and credit cards have also been falling. Refinancing could save you a lot of money if rates have dropped since your purchase.

Keep in mind that the exact rates you qualify for will depend on your income, credit score, and other factors. Additionally, there can be origination fees and other costs when refinancing. So crunch the numbers and see how much refinancing could potentially save you before applying.