2026 Financial Planning Checklist

‍Tax Planning

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) reshaped the landscape. It may reduce taxes for some taxpayers depending on individual circumstances and may create some tax planning opportunities. Here are some specific items to highlight and pay attention to.

Larger Standard Deductions

• Single: $16,100
• Married Filing Jointly: $32,200
• Head of Household: $24,150

New for 2026:

Non-itemizers can now deduct charitable cash contributions up to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for married couples filing jointly. This is a meaningful addition for households that take the standard deduction but still give to charity.

Action items:

• Tax Brackets have expanded across the board; If you have unused bracket space in your current tax bracket, that's a potential Roth conversion opportunity. (If you're unfamiliar with how Roth conversions work, [read our breakdown here].)
• Read our One Big Beautiful Bill Act article to see all the changes that may benefit or impact you

Retirement Account Contributions

Max out what you can. Every dollar of tax-advantaged space you leave on the table is a dollar that compounds less efficiently.

401(k) / 403(b) / 457(b)

• Employee deferral limit: $24,500
• Catch-up (age 50+): $8,000 → total of $32,500
• Super catch-up (ages 60–63): $11,250 → total of $35,750
• Total annual contribution limit (including employer): $72,000

IRA (Traditional or Roth)

• Under 50: $7,500
• Age 50+: $8,600

HSA (if enrolled in an HDHP)

• Self-only: $4,400
• Family: $8,750
• Catch-up (age 55+): additional $1,000

The HSA remains the only triple-tax-advantaged account in the tax code: deductible going in, tax-free growth, tax-free out (for qualified expenses). Take advantage of an HSA if you are eligible.

Action items:

• Verify your payroll deferrals are set correctly. If you plan to hit the 2026 maximums and haven’t updated your % deferral this year, double check you are on track.
• If you turned 50 or fall in the 60–63 super catch-up window this year, update your deferral elections to ensure you are taking advantage of the catch up contributions.

Estate and Gift Planning

The OBBBA permanently set the federal estate and gift tax exemption at $15,000,000 per person (indexed for inflation going forward). That's $30 million for a married couple. For the vast majority of households, federal estate tax is no longer a concern. But state-level estate taxes and the structure of your estate plan still matter.

2026 Gift Tax Exclusion: $19,000 per recipient (unchanged from 2025). Married couples can gift $38,000 per recipient.

Action items:

• Annual gifting remains one of the simplest wealth transfer tools. $19,000 per recipient, per year.
• Review beneficiary designations on all retirement accounts, insurance policies, and TOD/POD accounts. These are just as important as ensuring your Wills and Trusts are up to date.

530A Accounts (New for 2026)

This is the new savings vehicle for children introduced by the OBBBA. Contributions open July 3, 2026.

• Contribution limit: $5,000 per child per year
• Government seed: $1,000 for every child born on or after January 1, 2025
• Tax treatment: Tax-deferred growth; converts to a full IRA at age 18; contributed amounts (basis) can be converted to Roth IRA tax-free, pro-rata rules will still apply.

At a 7% annualized return, a $1,000 initial contribution with no additional funding grows to roughly $87,000 by age 67. Max it out ($5,000/year from birth through 18) and you're looking at $4.6 million at retirement age. We wrote an article regarding these accounts, you can read it here to learn more. 

Action items:

• If you have children or grandchildren under 18, evaluate whether 530A contributions fit into your gifting and savings strategy.
• Coordinate with 529 plans. These are different vehicles with different purposes—530A is retirement-focused, and 529 is education-focused. They're not substitutes; they're complements.

Investment Review

It is important to regularly review your investments to ensure they still align with your needs. As distributions are taken to support retirement and market prices change, investment allocations can drift towards being more aggressive or conservative than makes sense for you. 

Action items:

• Rebalance your investments back to your target allocation. Market movements over the past 12 months have likely drifted your allocation away from target. 
• Revisit asset location (not just allocation). Tax-inefficient holdings (bonds, REITs) ideally would be in your qualified accounts. Tax-efficient holdings (index funds, growth stocks) are ideally in taxable or Roth accounts.
• Harvest losses in taxable accounts. If you own positions with unrealized losses, consider selling them to offset gains or bank up to $3,000 against ordinary income. Be mindful of the 30-day wash-sale rules if you plan to repurchase the position later.

Insurance and Risk Management

Action items:

• Review life insurance coverage against current needs. If your kids are grown, your mortgage is paid off, and your portfolio can sustain your spouse then you may be over-insured. If you recently had a child, bought a home, or started a business then you may be under-insured.
• Confirm your long-term disability insurance covers at least 60% of gross income if you're still working.
• Long-term care: If you're over 50, begin considering long-term care coverage. Premiums increase with age. Hybrid policies (life + LTC) are worth evaluating.
• Umbrella liability: If your net worth exceeds $1 million, a $1–2 million umbrella policy is cheap protection against catastrophic risk.

The Bottom Line

Review each of the action items to see if there are items you should be attending to in 2026. This is not an exhaustive list, but it covers many important tasks families should check off to align their finances with their goals.

Properly managing your financial life requires attention in each of these areas and more. Most of these puzzle pieces can be left alone for a long time once in place, but continuous review is necessary. As your life changes so should your overall financial plan. If you feel behind, want professional help, or what to share these responsibilities with a financial advisor. Reach out to us and we would be happy to begin a partnership with you. Contact us here.

Disclosures

This material is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, tax, or legal advice. Nothing contained herein constitutes a recommendation to engage in any specific investment strategy or take any particular action. Financial decisions should be made based on your individual circumstances and in consultation with appropriate professionals.

Any references to tax strategies, including Roth conversions or contribution strategies, are general in nature and may not be appropriate for all individuals. The impact of such strategies depends on a variety of factors, including income, tax bracket, state of residence, and future legislative changes.

Hypothetical examples provided, including long-term growth illustrations for 530A accounts, are for illustrative purposes only and are based on assumed rates of return. These assumptions are not guaranteed, do not reflect actual investment results, and do not account for market volatility, fees, or changes in economic conditions. Actual results will vary and may be significantly different.