4 Money Deadlines To Take Care of in Early 2026 — Have You Properly Prepared?
Written by
Karen Doyle
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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The beginning of the year is always a difficult time after getting out of the holiday mood.
There are also deadlines that affect your finances early in the year, and you don’t want to miss them.
Here are four money deadlines to take care of in early 2026, based on a recent blog post by Fidelity.
Contribute to Tax-Advantaged Accounts
Tax-advantaged accounts like IRAs and HSAs typically can accept 2025 contributions up until the tax deadline, which is usually Apr. 15, 2026. If you are saving for college in a 529 plan account, and your plan offers state tax benefits, check to see if contributions needed to be made by the end of 2025.
Donate to Charity To Reduce Your Tax Bill
If you itemize deductions, you can deduct charitable donations made in 2025 from your adjusted gross income. If you’re donating cash, you can deduct up to 60% of your AGI; if you’re donating appreciated securities, you can deduct up to 30% of your AGI. For example, if your adjusted gross income is $100,000, you could deduct up to $60,000 in cash donations, or up to $30,000 worth of the basis of securities you own.
Take Your Required Minimum Distribution
If you are 73 or older, you have to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) from your qualified retirement plans, such as traditional IRAs or 401(k) plans. The penalty for failing to take an RMD is 25% of the amount of the RMD, so be sure to take what you have to.
If you turned 73 in 2025, you have until April 1, 2026, to take your first RMD. Keep in mind, however, that you will also need to take an RMD for 2026, so delaying means that you’ll need to take two RMDs in the same year and pay taxes on both of them.
Tax Loss Harvesting
If you have losses from some of your investments, you can sell those investments to realize the loss, then use that loss to offset realized capital gains in other investments. This can reduce your tax burden.
If you offset all your gains and still have losses left over, you can offset up to $3,000 of ordinary income (if married filing jointly) each year until all the losses have been accounted for. But your losses must’ve be realized by Dec. 31 to count for 2025.
After you’ve taken care of all these to-dos for early 2026, look ahead to the rest of the year. Remember to keep an eye on all these items so you don’t have to rush around at the end of next year.
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