By the Cornerstone Wealth Management Team
By the time your tax return is prepared in the spring, most of the decisions that shaped it have already closed. December 31 is the deadline for the majority of retirement tax moves, and once that date passes, those options don’t come back, making proactive year-end guidance from professional financial services vital to capturing them.
If you’ve ever walked out of a tax appointment thinking, “I wish I’d known that in November,” you’re in good company. It’s a common frustration we hear from retirees and pre-retirees across Henderson and Las Vegas.
The good news is that fall still gives you room to act. Below are six year-end tax planning moves to consider before December, along with what makes each one time-sensitive.
1. Confirm Your Required Minimum Distribution Is Complete
If you’re 73 or older, your required minimum distribution (RMD) has to come out of your traditional IRA or workplace plan by December 31. Missing it can trigger a penalty, and correcting the shortfall takes paperwork most people would rather avoid.
A few details tend to trip people up:
- If you turned 73 this year, your first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of next year. Doubling up two distributions in a single year may push your income into a higher bracket.
- If you hold multiple IRAs, the total can generally be taken from one of them. Employer plans typically follow different rules.
- The companies that hold your retirement accounts get busy in late December, so a request submitted in the final week may not settle in time.
2. Decide Whether a Roth Conversion Fits This Year
A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA and adds the converted amount to this year’s taxable income. You’re basically trading a tax bill today for a different tax picture later.
Conversions carry a firm December 31 deadline, and they can’t be unwound once completed, so the amount you convert deserves as careful a look as the decision itself. Many retirees convert during the years between leaving work and starting RMDs, when taxable income tends to dip.
A conversion sized to fill the rest of a lower tax bracket produces a very different result from one that pushes your income past a threshold you didn’t see coming.
3. Consider Giving Directly From Your IRA
If you’re 70½ or older, a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) sends money straight from your IRA to a charity. The amount stays out of your taxable income for the year, and if you’re already required to take distributions, the gift can count toward that requirement.
For 2026, the QCD limit is $111,000 per person, so a married couple with separate IRAs may direct up to $222,000.
This route has become more appealing because charitable gifts claimed as deductions on your return now have to clear a floor equal to 0.5% of your adjusted gross income, the income figure the IRS uses as a starting point for much of your tax picture.
A QCD sidesteps that floor and lowers that same income figure at the same time. The money has to move directly from the company holding your IRA to the charity.
4. Review Your Portfolio for Losses and Gains
Selling an investment at a loss can offset realized gains, and up to $3,000 of excess loss can offset ordinary income each year. Anything beyond that carries forward.
Just be mindful of the wash sale rule, which disallows the loss if you buy a substantially identical security within 30 days on either side of the sale.
The reverse can apply too. If your taxable income for the year lands low enough, gains on investments you’ve held longer than a year may be taxed at 0% federally. Both moves close on December 31.
5. Watch the Income Thresholds Behind Your Decisions
Your income for the year shapes several costs beyond your tax bracket, and some of them show up in places most people wouldn’t connect to a tax decision.
- Medicare premiums. IRMAA surcharges begin at $109,000 of modified adjusted gross income for single filers and $218,000 for joint filers in 2026. Medicare uses a two-year lookback, so this year’s income affects premiums two years out.
- The senior deduction. Taxpayers 65 and older may claim an additional $6,000 deduction through 2028. It begins phasing out above $75,000 of MAGI for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers.
- Taxation of Social Security. How much of your benefit becomes taxable depends on your combined income for the year.
A December Roth conversion, a large capital gain, or a property sale can move you across one of these lines without much warning.
6. Check Withholding and Estimated Payments
The default amount withheld from pensions, Social Security, and IRA distributions rarely lines up with everything a retiree receives during the year.
If you’ve had an unusual year, whether from a large gain or a business sale, the fourth-quarter window for estimated tax payments gives you a chance to correct course before penalties apply.
Tax withheld from an IRA distribution late in the year is generally treated as though it were paid evenly across all twelve months, which can help close a shortfall that a December estimated payment alone wouldn’t.
Start Your Year-End Tax Planning Before December 31
Year-end tax planning works ideally when these moves are weighed together instead of one at a time, because they pull on the same levers.
A Roth conversion can raise your Medicare premiums two years later, while a charitable gift or a capital gain moves the same income figure that several other calculations depend on. Looking at any single decision in isolation can produce an unintended result.
At Cornerstone Wealth Management, we help retirees and pre-retirees in Henderson, Las Vegas, and nationwide coordinate tax planning with income, investments, healthcare, and legacy goals, so the decisions you make in December support the retirement you’ve built toward.
Start preparing your financial future today! Schedule a complimentary call today by calling (702) 342-0781 or emailing scheduling@cornerstonevegas.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
What tax moves do I need to make before December 31?
Most retirement tax decisions close on December 31. That includes Roth conversions, charitable gifts made directly from an IRA, required minimum distributions, and selling investments at a loss to offset gains. IRA and HSA contributions are the main exceptions, since those generally stay open until the tax filing deadline in April.
How does a qualified charitable distribution lower my taxes?
A qualified charitable distribution sends money directly from your IRA to a charity, and the amount stays out of your taxable income for the year instead of showing up as a deduction on your return. If you’re 70½ or older, the gift can also count toward your required minimum distribution. The 2026 limit is $111,000 per person.
Should I do a Roth conversion before the end of the year?
A Roth conversion tends to work ideally in years when your taxable income is lower than what you anticipate it being later, such as the gap between leaving work and starting required distributions. Conversions must be finished by December 31 and can’t be reversed, so the amount you convert deserves close attention alongside your Medicare premium thresholds.
Why does my retirement income affect my Medicare premiums?
Medicare charges higher Part B and Part D premiums to beneficiaries whose income exceeds set thresholds, a surcharge known as IRMAA. For 2026, it starts at $109,000 in modified adjusted gross income for single filers and $218,000 for joint filers. Medicare applies a two-year lookback, so today’s decisions affect premiums two years later.
How can a financial advisor help with year-end tax planning?
An advisor maps how the December decisions interact, so a Roth conversion doesn’t unintentionally raise your Medicare premiums two years out and a year-end gain doesn’t cost you a deduction. Cornerstone Wealth Management coordinates year-end tax planning alongside income, investment, healthcare, and legacy decisions for retirees in Henderson, Las Vegas, and across the country.
About Cornerstone Wealth Management
Cornerstone Wealth Management is a fiduciary wealth management firm based in Henderson, Nevada, helping retirees and pre-retirees nationwide plan for their future with clarity, confidence, and care. Co-founded by Jammie Avila, Kyle Kirwan, and Anthony Napolitano, the firm takes a comprehensive approach that unites income, investment, tax, healthcare, insurance, and legacy planning under one roof—simplifying complex financial decisions so clients can focus on what matters most.
Disclosures: Registered Representatives offer securities through Independent Financial Group, LLC (IFG), Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisor Representatives offer Advisory services through Independent Financial Group, LLC (IFG), a Registered Investment Adviser.
Cornerstone Wealth Management, Cornerstone Tax Advisory and IFG are unaffiliated entities.
The foregoing content was prepared by Indigo Marketing Agency with verbiage, opinions and/or financial commentary input provided by Cornerstone Wealth Management.
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