4 Last-Minute Financial Moves To Make at Year’s End

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The blur of the holiday season can lull people into focusing on sales at the expense of crucial year-end financial housekeeping, which could save them more money than shopping discounts ever could. 

Dec. 31, 2025 is the last chance to make the following key money moves, which can pad your savings, lower your tax bill and set you up for financial success in 2026. 

Contribute To Employer-Based Retirement Funds

Although Vanguard suggested contributing as much as possible early in the year to maximize compounding, the IRS allows IRAs to be funded for the current tax year through April 15, 2026. 

However, that is not the case for 401(k) plans and other employer-sponsored accounts, which require all contributions by Dec. 31, 2025 or your last payday of the year. 

Adjust Your Tax Withholdings for 2026

If you look forward to a big tax refund every year, Northwestern Mutual outlined why you should adjust your money mindset — and your tax withholdings through Form W-4. 

When the IRS issues refunds, it repays taxpayers for the 0% loans they made to the Treasury Department by overpaying their estimated taxes throughout the prior year — money they could have invested, directed to interest-bearing emergency savings or used to pay down debt. 

The IRS does not enforce a deadline for amending your withholdings to keep the entirety of your rightful check every pay period, but the only way to prevent surprises and ensure the correct withholding for all of 2026 is to submit Form W-4 by Dec. 31, 2025. 

Harvest Capital Losses

Wealthy investors use a strategy called loss-harvesting to shed losing positions while reducing their tax obligation, but ordinary earners can make the same play — as long as they act before year’s end. 

Vanguard described this effective end-of-year tax strategy as selling securities at a loss to offset gains from winning investments while unburdening your portfolio of stragglers.

If your capital losses exceed your gains, you can use excess losses to offset up to $3,000 of your non-investment earned income.

Give To Charity and Receive a Tax Deduction

Charitable donations can enable you to do well by doing good — as long as you do it by year’s end. Dec. 31, 2025 is the deadline for making deductible gifts that apply to your 2025 return. 

The IRS noted that the donation counts as long as your credit or debit card was charged, you wrote a check or you sent a text message confirming a donation before midnight on the last day of the year. You can also donate stocks, promissory notes and borrowed funds. 

Charles Schwab reminded individuals ages 73 and older that qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) can reduce their required minimum distributions (RMDs) while optimizing favorable tax treatment for donations.

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