6 year-end strategies to consider

As the year comes to a close, here are six strategies to consider when thinking about your finances, including retirement contributions and distributions, tax planning and charitable giving. For help tailoring these steps to your situation, consider talking to a J.P. Morgan representative and your legal and tax professionals as part of your year-end planning.

Retirement contributions and deadlines

Contributions to a traditional or Roth IRA for tax year 2026 must be made by the tax-filing deadline the following year (not including extensions). Review what you have already contributed for 2026 and plan for any future retirement contributions.

If you own a business and want to set up a retirement account for your business, the SECURE Act extended the deadline to set up and fund most employer-sponsored qualified retirement plans to the sponsor’s tax filing deadline, including extensions (depending on the type of entity).

Thanks to the SECURE 2.0 Act, there have been additional changes to IRA contribution rules in recent years. We recommend reviewing how these rules apply to you and working with legal and tax professionals to plan your retirement contributions.

Required minimum distributions (RMDs)

Take any RMDs from your own retirement accounts before December 31 to avoid additional taxes. Under SECURE 2.0 Act, the age at which individuals must take their first RMD rose to 73. You can defer your first RMD to April 1 of the year after the year in which you turn 73, but after your first RMD, subsequent RMDs must be taken by December 31 of each year to avoid potential tax consequences. If you defer your first RMD, you may end up taking two distributions in the same year.

IRS guidance issued in recent years has addressed the rules for beneficiaries of inherited IRAs. Depending on the beneficiary and other circumstances, required distributions may apply, and certain beneficiaries must fully distribute the inherited account within 10 years.

These rules are complex, and we recommend you consult with your own tax professionals before making decisions related to required distributions from inherited IRAs.

Tax-loss harvesting and the wash sale rule

Using capital losses to offset gains, a strategy known as tax-loss harvesting, may lower or eliminate capital gains taxes.

However, in order to deduct a loss from the sale of stock or securities in the year you make the sale, you must not trigger the wash sale rule. Among other requirements, this means that you should avoid buying the security you sold for a loss, or another security that is “substantially identical,” within 30 days before or after the sale. If you’re not sure whether a security is “substantially identical,” check with your accountant or other tax professional.

The wash sale rule is highly complex, and you should consult your tax professional regarding it.

Note that the wash sale rule generally affects the deductibility of certain losses: You can repurchase a winning security that you had sold at a gain shortly before or after you sold it without triggering the wash sale rule.

Make gifts before year-end

In 2026, you can make an annual gift of up to $19,000 ($38,000 for married couples) to each recipient – the annual exclusion. If you don’t use your annual exclusion in a particular year, you lose it. Even if your gifts exceed the annual exclusion in a given year, you can make aggregate lifetime gifts of up to $15 million ($30 million for married couples) in 2026 – the lifetime exemption – without triggering gift or estate taxes.

Donate to charity this year

Charitable contributions may be deductible from U.S. federal taxable income if certain requirements are met and you itemize deductions. Beginning in 2026, individuals who itemize can generally deduct charitable contributions only to the extent they exceed 0.5% of their adjusted gross income (AGI). Existing AGI limits, such as the 60% limit for cash contributions to public charities, remain in place. Contributions disallowed due to the AGI limits can be carried forward for five years.

Also beginning in 2026, the tax benefit of itemized deductions is limited for certain higher-income taxpayers. For taxpayers above certain taxable-income thresholds, overall itemized deductions may be reduced by 5.4%, subject to certain limitations.

If you think you may be subject to these limitations, consider the timing of your charitable deductions as part of your broader tax planning. You can make direct gifts to charities, or you can fund a donor-advised fund or private foundation. Speak with your J.P. Morgan representative or your tax professional if you think you may be interested in a charitable strategy.

If you contribute qualifying appreciated property (most frequently stocks, bonds or other securities that have grown in value), you can generally qualify for the income tax deduction described above based on the full fair market value of the contributed property and avoid paying capital gains tax on the appreciation, so long as you’ve held that asset for at least a year. This can be a tax-efficient way of managing your charitable giving.

You can also consider making a “qualified charitable distribution” of up to $111,000 for 2026 from your IRA or an inherited IRA – but only if you are over age 70½. A qualified charitable distribution does not give you an income tax deduction, but the amount of the distribution also is not includible in your income for the year of distribution, even though it counts as part of your RMD (if you’re subject to RMDs).

Consider your stock options

Because exercising incentive stock options (ISOs) can affect the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), consider reviewing your situation with a tax professional before exercising vested, in-the-money ISOs.

The bottom line

The end of the year can be a good time to review your financial situation and ensure that you’re on track to meet your goals. These year-end steps can be a good place to start. Speaking with a financial advisor and your legal and tax professionals can be helpful to strategize and set yourself up for success next year and beyond.

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