For investors, the 2026 tax year ends on Thursday, December 31, 2026, a full trading day on US exchanges. Sales, withdrawals, conversions, payroll deferrals and gifts count in the calendar year they happen, and brokers, custodians and payroll offices often set earlier cutoffs of their own. This checklist gives each move's deadline as of November 2, 2026, the IRS rule behind it and the guide that covers it in depth, most of them on the stocks hub. Amounts are 2026 figures for returns filed in 2027.
Which tax moves must be done by December 31, 2026?
Seven common investor moves count for 2026 only if they happen by Thursday, December 31, 2026, and each has its own definition of done.
| Move | What has to happen by December 31 | Rule to know |
|---|---|---|
| Realize losses or gains | The sale trades | A December 31 trade counts for 2026 even though it settles on Monday, January 4, 2027 |
| Required minimum distribution | The money leaves the account | A first RMD can wait until April 1, 2027 |
| Qualified charitable distribution | The IRA pays the charity directly | Owner aged 70½ or older; up to $111,000 per IRA owner |
| Gift to charity | Check mailed, card charged or shares received by the charity | New floor for itemizers and a new deduction for everyone else |
| Gift to family | Gift complete, and a check deposited or cashed | $19,000 per recipient without filing a return |
| Roth conversion | Money moved into the Roth IRA | Taxed as 2026 income and cannot be reversed |
| 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) deferral | Paycheck dated | $24,500, plus an $8,000 catch-up at 50 or older ($11,250 at ages 60 to 63) |
The New York Stock Exchange closes early, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, on Thursday, December 24, is shut on December 25, trades a full day on December 31 and is closed on Friday, January 1, 2027. Crypto held at a broker has one more date: through December 31, 2026, you can identify the units you sell from a broker account, or record a standing order, in your own books and records rather than with the broker. From 2027 that choice has to reach the broker by the time of the sale, as crypto cost basis methods explains.
When is the last day to harvest losses for 2026?
Thursday, December 31, 2026 is the last day, because the trade date, not the settlement date, decides which tax year a sale belongs to. IRS Publication 550 uses this very case: stock sold on December 31 and paid for in January belongs on the earlier year's return.
The wash sale rule looks 30 days each way, so for a December 31 loss sale, buying substantially identical shares from December 1, 2026 through Saturday, January 30, 2027 disallows the loss. That includes purchases in a spouse's account and in an IRA, where Publication 550 allows no basis increase, so the loss is gone for good. The first trading day outside the window is Monday, February 1, 2027.
Net losses cancel 2026 gains first, then offset up to $3,000 a year against ordinary income ($1,500 if married filing separately), and the rest carries forward. Gains can be harvested too. Long-term gains are taxed at 0% up to $49,450 of taxable income (single) or $98,900 (married filing jointly); 15% above that; 20% above $545,500 (single) or $613,700 (joint), so a household inside the 0% band can sell winners and rebuy at once to raise its cost basis. The value by bracket is worked out in tax loss harvesting for stocks, and the rates in capital gains tax on stocks.
Worked example: A December 31 loss sale with a dividend reinvested inside the window
Dana sells 300 fund shares, bought in 2024 at $95, for $75 each on Thursday, December 31, 2026. A dividend reinvested on December 18 bought 5 shares at $74, which she keeps.
- Loss on the sale: 300 × ($95 − $75) = $6,000.
- The December 18 shares fall inside the window, so the loss on 5 shares is disallowed: 5 × $20 = $100. It moves into their basis, which becomes (5 × $74 + $100) ÷ 5 = $94 a share.
- Allowed 2026 loss: $5,900. Against $2,000 of short-term gains, the net loss of $3,900 offsets $3,000 of ordinary income, and $900 carries into 2027.
What changed for charitable giving in 2026?
Three rules from the 2025 tax law start with 2026 gifts: a deduction for non-itemizers, a 0.5%-of-AGI floor for itemizers and a 35% cap on the benefit.
- Standard deduction filers can now deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts to qualifying charities, or $2,000 on a joint return, on top of the standard deduction. IRS Publication 6196 limits it to cash given to eligible charities and generally excludes donor-advised funds.
- Itemizers deduct only giving above 0.5% of adjusted gross income, so at $200,000 of AGI the first $1,000 earns nothing. The 60%-of-AGI ceiling for cash gifts to public charities is now permanent, and gifts above the ceilings still carry forward five years.
- Filers in the 37% bracket get at most 35 cents of tax benefit per dollar of itemized deductions, gifts included.
Publication 526 sets the date of a gift. A check counts when mailed and a card gift when charged, but shares moved by a broker or transfer agent count only once they are recorded in the charity's name, so a stock gift started on December 29 can slip into 2027.
The asset matters too. Shares held more than a year that have risen are deductible at market value, up to 30% of AGI for gifts to public charities, and the gain is never taxed. For shares that have fallen, the deduction is limited to market value, so selling first and giving the cash keeps the capital loss. Crypto gifts follow the same property rules; see crypto gifts and donations.
The floor rewards bunching: giving two years' worth in one year, often through a donor-advised fund, and taking the standard deduction in the other. The trade-off is that donor-advised fund gifts earn nothing under the non-itemizer deduction. The law's other investor changes are in what the 2025 tax law changed for investors.
Worked example: The new charity rules at two income levels
An itemizer. Morgan files single with $180,000 of AGI, $15,000 of state and local taxes and $7,000 of mortgage interest, and gives $6,000 in cash in 2026.
- Floor: 0.5% × $180,000 = $900, so $5,100 is deductible.
- Itemized total: $15,000 + $7,000 + $5,100 = $27,100, above the $16,100 standard deduction.
- At taxable income of $152,900, in the 24% bracket, the floor costs Morgan 24% × $900 = $216.
A non-itemizer. A married couple on the $32,200 standard deduction gives $1,500 in cash to a food bank and $1,000 to a donor-advised fund. Only the $1,500 is deductible, worth $180 in the 12% bracket.
What RMD and QCD deadlines apply this year?
RMDs for 2026 must leave the account by December 31, 2026, except a first RMD for someone turning 73 this year, which can wait until April 1, 2027.
The starting age is 73, or 75 for anyone born in 1960 or later, so owners born in 1953 or earlier owe one for 2026. IRA amounts are figured separately but can be taken from any of the IRAs, while each 401(k) or 457(b) must pay out its own. Plan participants still working for the sponsor, and owning 5% or less of it, can usually wait until they retire, and Roth accounts have no RMDs during the owner's life. A shortfall owes a 25% excise tax on Form 5329, cut to 10% if fixed within two years.
Heirs on the 10-year rule have a calendar too. If the owner had already started RMDs, final regulations require a withdrawal every year from 2025 as well as an empty account by the end of the tenth year after the death.
For owners 70½ or older, a qualified charitable distribution sends up to $111,000 per IRA owner straight from the IRA to charity in 2026. It counts toward the RMD and stays out of adjusted gross income, which can beat a deduction because the charitable floor, the senior deduction and Medicare premiums all key off AGI. The tax code bars QCDs to donor-advised funds and supporting organizations. For income planning in retirement, see safe investments for retirees.
Worked example: Delaying a first RMD into 2027
Pat, born in 1953, turns 73 in 2026. Her IRA was worth $500,000 on December 31, 2025, and the Uniform Lifetime Table divisor at 73 is 26.5.
- 2026 RMD: $500,000 ÷ 26.5 = $18,867.92, due by April 1, 2027 at the latest.
- At $510,000 on December 31, 2026, the 2027 RMD is $510,000 ÷ 25.5 = $20,000, due by December 31, 2027.
- Waiting puts $38,867.92 of IRA income into 2027 instead of splitting it across two years.
How much can you give to family before the year ends?
Each giver can transfer up to $19,000 per recipient in 2026 without filing a gift tax return, and unused room does not carry into 2027.
- Couples: each spouse can give $19,000 of his or her own money, so $38,000 per recipient needs no return. Splitting one spouse's larger gift generally requires a Form 709 from both.
- Larger gifts use up the lifetime exemption of $15,000,000 per person and go on Form 709 by April 15, 2027; tax is owed only once the exemption runs out.
- Tuition and medical bills paid directly to the school or provider do not count against the exclusion.
- 529 plans: a contribution can be spread over five years on Form 709, so up to $95,000 per beneficiary in 2026 fits the exclusion if no other gifts go to that person in those years.
- A spouse who is not a US citizen has an annual exclusion of $194,000.
- Checks count for 2026 only if deposited or cashed in 2026 and paid while the giver is alive, under Revenue Ruling 96-56.
Gifts to relatives in another country follow the same US rules; see gift tax on money sent abroad.
What should you check before a Roth conversion in 2026?
Check your bracket room first: a 2026 conversion is taxed as ordinary income for 2026, must be finished by December 31 and cannot be reversed.
Conversions have not been reversible since 2018, so a December conversion stays converted if markets fall in January. For joint filers in 2026, the 12% bracket ends at $100,800 of taxable income and 22% at $211,400; for single filers, at $50,400 and $105,700. The added income also raises modified AGI, which drives three other tests.
- The senior deduction: $6,000 per person aged 65 or older, with each person's $6,000 reduced by 6% of modified AGI above $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return). In the phase-out, a 22% bracket works like 23.32% for one qualifying person and 24.64% when both spouses qualify.
- Medicare premiums: surcharges use income from two years earlier, so 2026 income sets 2028 premiums. For 2026 they start above $109,000 of MAGI for single filers and $218,000 for joint filers.
- The investment income surtax: 3.8% on the smaller of net investment income and the amount by which modified AGI exceeds $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly), and conversion income counts in that modified AGI.
The pro-rata rule counts every traditional IRA balance on December 31, and each conversion starts its own five-year clock on January 1 of that year; Roth vs traditional IRA works through both.
Worked example: How far a $20,000 conversion reaches for a couple at 66
Sam and Alex, both 66, file jointly with $140,000 of ordinary income in 2026 and have not started Social Security.
- Deductions: $32,200 standard + 2 × $1,650 for age 65 or older + 2 × $6,000 senior deduction = $47,500, leaving taxable income of $92,500 and tax of $10,604.
- Converting $8,300 fills the 12% bracket to $100,800 and adds $996 of tax.
- Converting $20,000 lifts AGI to $160,000. Each senior deduction loses 6% × $10,000 = $600, so taxable income rises $21,200, to $113,700, and tax to $14,438.
- The $20,000 costs $3,834, or 19.2%; the $11,700 beyond the first $8,300 costs $2,838, or 24.3%.
That is the price of tax-free growth later. The compound interest calculator projects what a converted balance could grow to at a rate you choose.
How much can you still defer into a 401(k) for 2026?
The 2026 limit is $24,500, plus an $8,000 catch-up at 50 or older ($11,250 at ages 60 to 63), and only paychecks dated by December 31, 2026 count toward it.
A payroll change can take a cycle to process, so December requests should go in early. Someone aged 52 who has deferred $25,000 through November has $7,500 of room under the $32,500 total, or $3,750 from each of two remaining paychecks. The limit is per person across employers, so job changers should add up both. New for 2026, participants with more than $150,000 in prior-year wages from the employer sponsoring the plan must make catch-ups as Roth contributions if the plan offers Roth. Over-deferrals must be returned by April 15, 2027 to avoid double tax; see 401(k) basics and IRA and 401(k) contribution limits.
Which tax moves can wait until 2027?
IRA and HSA contributions for 2026 can be made until April 15, 2027, and the last 2026 estimated tax payment is due January 15, 2027.
- IRAs: $7,500, plus a $1,100 catch-up at age 50 or older, traditional and Roth combined; a filing extension does not move the date.
- HSAs: $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, plus $1,000 at 55 or older; investing the balance is covered in HSA investing.
- SEP IRAs: due by the business's filing deadline, including extensions.
- Estimated tax: the January 15 payment can be skipped by filing the 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and paying in full.
Large December gains, an RMD or a conversion can leave too little paid in. Under the 2026 Form 1040-ES, payments avoid a penalty if they reach the smaller of 90% of 2026 tax or 100% of 2025 tax (110% if 2025 AGI exceeded $150,000). Publication 505 treats withholding as paid evenly through the year unless you elect actual dates, so extra December withholding, from wages or an IRA distribution, also covers earlier quarters.
The 2027 brackets, standard deduction and retirement plan limits had not been published as of November 2, 2026; the 2026 versions came out on October 9 and November 13, 2025. The forms to collect in January are in the tax season 2027 checklist for investors.
What year-end tax mistakes are most common?
Most year-end mistakes are timing errors: a repurchase inside the wash sale window, a gift that clears in January or an RMD taken from the wrong account.
- Rebuying a harvested position within 30 days in an IRA, a spouse's account or through dividend reinvestment.
- Taking one withdrawal to cover several 401(k)s, which each owe their own RMD.
- Sending a QCD, or a gift meant for the non-itemizer deduction, to a donor-advised fund.
- Converting while other pre-tax IRA money will still be there on December 31.
- Donating shares that have lost value instead of selling them and giving the cash.
- Waiting until December 31, when custodians and payroll offices may already have closed their books.
These examples leave out state taxes and credits, and the rules change often. A tax professional can test any of these moves against a full return before December 31.