Last night we had another local in-person meetup. Our group meetups are awesome! Last night it was full of people that were all at different stages or points in their own personal finance journey. We talked about the wicked-sexy topic: year-end money moves. Okay, okay this did not have epic pyrotechnics or face-melting guitar solo lol! It was wwJust us, a discussion, and a pile of year end deadlines most of us ignore until the last week of December.
The room was totally into it! I think there was a lot of people there were kinda worried they’re leaving money on the table. So here’s some of what we all jammed on. So, If you’ve got a few minutes and your most recent pay stub nearby, you can maybe knock out a bunch of this after reading this.
One quick note before we dive in. I’m just a dude who digs personal finance, not your tax pro. Think of this as like a like a roadmap, then run your details by you CPA or financial advisor who knows way more than I do and understands your unique situation.
1. Check Your FSA Balance Right Now
If you have a Flexible Spending Account, this one is the most urgent on the list. FSAs are the classic “use it or lose it” account, and that money can genuinely vanish.
Here’s what you need to know for 2026:
- The health FSA limit is $3,400.
- Many plans let you carry over up to $680 into next year, but only if your employer allows it. Some employers offer a grace period instead.
- Anything above that is gone if you don’t spend it! So, If your plan runs on the calendar year, that deadline is December 31.
Its a good idea to log into your FSA portal this week and look at the actual number. If there’s money sitting there, please don’t let it go to waste. Go use this money! It’s easy to burn through it on things you’d buy anyway: new glasses or contacts, a dental cleanup, over-the-counter meds, first-aid supplies, and prescription copays. You can look at Amazon for FSA categories or FSA Store to purchase qualified products.
Yo! Parents, pay attention here. The dependent care FSA limit jumped to $7,500 per household for 2026, up from $5,000, thanks to the tax law changes passed last year. THAT’S HUGE! If you’ve got kids in daycare or afterschool care, it can be a good idea to double-check that your election actually reflects the new number. The IRS covers how these plans work in Publication 969.
2. Don’t Just Click “Keep Everything the Same” at Open Enrollment
So ya know that time of the year? Open enrollment is the one window of time each year where you can actually change your benefits, and a lot of us (guilty) just f’n smash the auto-renew button without reading a damn thing.
Please take some time, at least 15 minutes and compare plan tiers again, especially if something changed this year. Did you have a major life change? Maybe you had a new baby, a new medical diagnosis, or way more (or fewer) doctor visits than usual can flip which plan makes sense for your new situation.
And hey! While you’re in there, look at your life and disability insurance. Most people set those once when they get hired and never touch them again, even though their income and family look totally different now.
This is also the time to set next year’s HSA or FSA contribution. Which brings me to a few of the next ones. Read on my friends.
3. Bump Up Your 401(k) Contributions Before the Last Paycheck
All right, this is the big one! The 401(k)! This limit rose to $24,500 for 2026, up from $23,500, according to the official IRS announcement. A few other numbers we should pay attention to:
- If you’re 50 or older, you can add an $8,000 catch-up contributions.
- If you’re 60, 61, 62, or 63, SECURE 2.0 gives you a “super catch-up” (I’ll always like the names of things they read called “SUPER!”) of $11,250 instead, which means your total could hit $35,750!
- The combined employee and employer limit is $72,000.
If you can, grab your latest pay stub or log on to your paycheck portal and count how many pay periods are left. Then, let’s do some quick math. Can you raise your contribution percentage for the last few checks? Even a small bump totally adds up, YO! Keep in mind, though, payroll has to process it before the year ends, so don’t wait for the final week.
There is one new wrinkle for 2026. If your FICA wages from last year were over $150,000, your catch-up contributions now have to go in as Roth, not pre-tax. That won’t actually wreck anything, but it’s better to know about it now than to get surprised by your paycheck.
4. Know Your RMD Deadline (A 25% Penalty Is Not a Typo)
There were a couple peeps that were getting closer to retirement, or maybe you’re helping a parent manage their accounts. (And if retirement is on your mind, my post on the state of retirees in America is a good reminder that the plan is about more than just the money.)
Here’s the deal with Required Minimum Distributions, or RMDs. When you save money in accounts like a traditional 401(k) or IRA, you don’t pay taxes on it right away. The government is basically saying, “Sure, wait on the taxes for now.” But they don’t let you wait forever. At a certain age, they make you start taking some of that money out each year so they can finally collect their tax. This is called an RMD.
That “certain age” depends on when you were born:
- Born between 1951 and 1959: you start at age 73.
- Born in 1960 or later: you start at age 75.
Each year you have until December 31 to take out your required amount.
There is a bonus rule for your very first year. You get some extra time and can wait until April 1 of the next year. Sounds rad, right? but it can totally backfire. If you wait, you’ll have to take two withdrawals in the same year, the late one from last year and the regular one for this year. That can pile on extra income and push you into a higher tax bracket! Most financial advisors don’t love that delay. So most people are better off just taking the first one on time.
I also learned this while I was researching for the meetup. If you miss taking your RMD, the penalty is up to 25% of the amount you should have taken out. That can drop to 10% if you act quickly, and fix it!. Either way, it’s an expensive oops. The IRS RMD page spells out the rules.
Good news for Roth fans: Roth 401(k) accounts no longer require RMDs during the original owner’s lifetime. That lines them up with how Roth IRAs have always worked.
5. Try Tax-Loss Harvesting in Your Taxable Account
I always thought this crazy thing called tax-loss-harvesting was some super secret thing for the elite and super wealthy. Something that me, as a normal person, wouldn’t even do. But this can actually be a standard practice. So how it works is this, let’s say you’ve got investments in a regular taxable brokerage account that are down this year, you could sell them, “harvest” the loss, and use the loss to offset gains elsewhere in your portfolio. Lower gains means a lower tax bill. Boom! Ain’t that crazy!
Of course there are awe few rules to keep in mind:
- The wash-sale rule: if you sell at a loss and buy the same or a substantially identical investment within 30 days (before or after the sale), the IRS disallows the loss.
- If you still want exposure to that part of the market, buy something similar but not identical.
- If your losses beat your gains, you can use up to $3,000 of the excess against regular income, and the rest carries forward to future years.
This is also a great excuse to check in on your accounts and see if your allocation has drifted. A year of market movement can quietly throw your portfolio out of whack. Year-end is a natural time to rebalance back to your target.
6. Max Out Your HSA (The Best Deal in the Tax Code)
If you have a high-deductible health plan, an HSA is a legit superpower. Money goes in tax-deductible, grows tax-free, and comes out tax-free for qualified medical expenses. Triple win! F*CK YEAH!
And unlike an FSA, there’s no deadline to spend it. The balance rolls over year after year.
The 2026 limits are $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family, plus an extra $1,000 if you’re 55 or older. Some peeps in the FI crowd treat their HSA like a stealth retirement account. They pay current medical bills out of pocket, save the receipts, invest the HSA, and let it compound for decades. I even touch on HSA withdrawals as one of the tools in Funding the Gap: How to Pay for Early Retirement Before 59½.
Setting your election for next year? Use the 2027 numbers, which are already out: $4,500 self-only and $9,000 family. PlanSponsor has the full 2027 HSA and HDHP breakdown.
Quick question for you: are you contributing the max, or leaving free tax savings on the table? If you have the opportunity, you might want to take advantage.
7. Give Smarter With Charitable Moves
If you’re 70½ or older with a traditional IRA, this one can save you real money. A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) sends money straight from your IRA to a qualified charity, and it never counts as taxable income to you. The 2026 limit is $111,000.
If you’re 73 or older and taking RMDs, a QCD counts toward that requirement. You satisfy the IRS and support a cause you care about without adding a dime to your taxable income.
Not old enough for a QCD yet? Here are a couple of ideas:
- Bunching: think about combining a few years of planned giving into one year so you clear the standard deduction and can actually itemize.
- Donor-advised funds: you get the deduction the year you contribute, then decide over time which charities receive the money.
New for 2026, if you take the standard deduction you may also deduct up to $1,000 in cash gifts to qualifying charities ($2,000 for married couples filing jointly). One catch: gifts to donor-advised funds don’t count for that one. PKF O’Connor Davies has a good summary of the 2026 charitable giving changes, and PG Calc’s 2026 tax tables list the QCD limit and standard deduction amounts. I have a killer podcast episode with Sean Mullaney about charitable giving!
8. Don’t Sleep on Your IRA
Here’s the one deadline that’s actually relaxed. Unlike a 401(k), you’ve got until the tax filing deadline, around mid-April 2027, to make a 2026 IRA contribution.
But “I’ve got time” is how things get forgotten. Use year-end to decide on a plan: automate monthly contributions, or set a reminder to fund it in one lump sum before you file.
The 2026 limit is $7,500, plus $1,100 extra if you’re 50 or older. Roth IRA income limits still apply, so check your eligibility before assuming you can contribute directly. The IRS lists the current income phase-outs in the 2026 limits announcement. Higher earners often look at a backdoor Roth conversion, which is a deeper rabbit hole than we can cover here. (I do get into Roth conversion ladders in Funding the Gap if you want to peek.)
9. Knock Out the Small Stuff Everybody Forgets
This last bucket is the pile of tiny tasks that cause huge headaches when ignored.
- Gifts: the 2026 annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per person ($38,000 for a married couple splitting gifts). It’s a clean way to help with education or other goals without touching your lifetime exemption. The IRS gift tax FAQ has the details.
- 529 plans: consider “superfunding,” where you front-load five years of gift exclusions into a single contribution.
- Beneficiary designations: people change jobs, get married, get divorced, and have kids. Their 401(k) and life insurance paperwork often stays the same. It’s a five-minute fix with big consequences if it’s wrong.
- Insurance check: make sure your home, auto, umbrella, and life coverage still match your actual life.
10. Set a Calendar Reminder for Next Fall
This is my favorite step, because it takes about ten seconds. Pull out your phone right now and set a reminder for next October or Novembers titled “Year-End Money Moves.”
That turns this from a fire drill every five years into an annual ritual. Finishing strong is way easier when you plan the setlist before the encore. LFG!
Quick FAQs
What are the best year-end money moves?
Start with the deadline-driven ones. Spend down your FSA, review open enrollment choices, raise your 401(k) contribution, take any RMD, and harvest tax losses in your taxable account.
What’s the 401(k) limit for 2026?
$24,500, plus $8,000 catch-up if you’re 50 or older, or $11,250 if you’re 60 to 63.
Can I still fund my IRA after December 31?
Yes. You have until the tax filing deadline, around mid-April 2027, to make a 2026 contribution.
Do HSA funds expire?
No. Unlike an FSA, your HSA balance rolls over every year.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to do all ten of these before New Year’s. Pick two or three that fit your life, put them on the calendar, and knock them out one at a time. Small, consistent moves beat a panicked December scramble every time.
If you’re still thinking “where do I even start,” start with your FSA balance and your last pay stub. Those two take about five minutes combined.
Want more where this came from? Grab the free Financial Freedom Guide, browse the Heavy Metal Money resources page, or come hang out with the crew in the community. Horns up, and finish strong.
Disclaimer: This post is for general education and isn’t tax, legal, or investment advice. Check with a qualified professional about your situation.