AI Summary
5 min readIn the fourth quarter of 2026, most people are already thinking about the holidays, not their taxes. But by the time April rolls around, the most powerful levers for lowering your tax bill have already snapped shut. As Motley Fool's Amanda Kish puts it, "by April, most of your options are already gone and you're basically just reporting what has already happened." The window to act is now, and the difference between a proactive strategy and a reactive filing can be thousands of dollars.
The First Lever: Maximize Tax-Advantaged Contributions
The most straightforward way to lower your 2026 taxable income is to max out contributions to accounts that offer an upfront tax deduction. Every dollar you put into a pre-tax 401(k), 403(b), or traditional IRA is a dollar the IRS cannot touch this year. For 2026, the 401(k) limit is $24,500, with an $8,000 catch-up for those 50 or older, and an even higher "super catch-up" for those aged 60 to 63. For IRAs, the limit is $7,500, or $8,000 with the catch-up.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:19) **2026 Tax Planning: Why Now Is the Time to Act** - Robert Brokamp introduces the fourth-quarter tax planning segment with Amanda Kish, emphasizing that October through December is the last window to make proactive moves for the 2026 tax year.
- 2 (01:06) **Question 1: Maxing Out Retirement Contributions** - Amanda explains why boosting pre-tax retirement contributions is the most direct way to lower taxable income for 2026.
- 3 (03:38) **Question 2: Tax-Loss Harvesting in Taxable Accounts** - Amanda and Robert detail how to use investment losses to offset gains and ordinary income, with critical warnings about the wash-sale rule.
- 4 (08:42) **Question 3: Asset Location — Putting the Right Holdings in the Right Accounts** - Amanda explains how shifting income-heavy investments into tax-advantaged accounts can improve after-tax returns without changing your investment mix.
- 5 (11:58) **Question 4: Donating Appreciated Stock vs. Cash** - Amanda and Robert explain how gifting appreciated shares can be far more tax-efficient than writing a check, and how donor-advised funds enable "bunching" deductions.
- 6 (15:20) **Question 5: Avoiding Surprise Underpayment Penalties** - Amanda explains the safe harbor rules and how to adjust withholding or make estimated payments before the deadline.
- 7 (18:01) **Question 6: RMDs and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)** - Amanda covers the mechanics of required minimum distributions and how QCDs can satisfy RMDs without increasing taxable income.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
In this next installment of our Financial Planning Challenge, Host Robert Brokamp and guest Fool Amanda Kish discuss fourth-quarter tax planning to make sure you are paying as much as you’re supposed to – but not a penny more.
Topics discussed:
-Maxing out tax-advantaged savings accounts
-Tax-loss harvesting
-Donating appreciated stock, and new rules for deducting charitable contributions for 2026
-Getting your withholdings right to avoid penalties
-Roth conversions
-And more!
Host: Robert Brokamp, CFP®, EA
Guest: Amanda Kish, CFA, CFP®
Engineer: Bart Shannon
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