Year-End Tax Planning: A Checklist for CPAs and Their Clients

Year-end is when good tax planning pays off. A disciplined checklist helps you catch opportunities before December 31 closes the window. Here is a framework to run with every client.

Income and deduction timing

• Accelerate or defer income depending on this year’s and next year’s expected brackets.
• Prepay deductible expenses (within the rules) or defer them to the higher-value year.
• Consider bunching itemized deductions (charitable gifts, medical) to clear the standard-deduction hurdle.

Investments

• Harvest capital losses to offset gains; mind the wash-sale rule.
• Consider gain harvesting for clients in the 0% capital-gains bracket.
• Rebalance with tax in mind and check for mutual-fund capital-gain distributions.

Retirement and health

• Max out 401(k), IRA, and HSA contributions; evaluate Roth conversions in low-income years.
• Confirm required minimum distributions are taken; consider qualified charitable distributions.

Business owners

• Time equipment purchases to use Section 179 and bonus depreciation.
• Review the QBI deduction, reasonable compensation, and accountable-plan reimbursements.

Housekeeping

Update withholding and estimates to avoid penalties, gather basis records, and document charitable gifts properly. A one-page checklist per client, reviewed every November, turns year-end from a scramble into a routine.