Let’s start by acknowledging that nobody reads a tax article for fun. You’re here because you suspect you’re paying more tax than you need to. Honestly, you might be right.

The good news is the tax code rewards people who plan ahead. And now is the perfect time to plan, since many of the tax moves we’ll cover in this article only work if you take action before December 31.

1. Max out your retirement accounts

Retirement contributions work like a two-for-one coupon. They can cut this year’s tax bill while building future financial stability.

Here are the 2026 contribution limits for different types of retirement accounts:

• 401(k): $24,500, or $32,500 if you’re 50 or older
• IRA: $7,500, or $8,600 if you’re 50 or older
• SEP IRA: 25% of compensation or $72,000
• Solo 401(k): $72,000

If you’re age 60 to 63, you can take advantage of a “super catch-up” window with a 401(k). This lets you contribute $11,250 in catch-up contributions per year, bringing the maximum to $35,750.

Keep in mind that Roth contributions won’t lower your taxable income today, but the money grows tax-free and allows for tax-free withdrawals in retirement. So factor that into your tax planning.

2. Open (and fund) a Health Savings Account

If you have a qualifying high-deductible health plan (HDHP), a health savings account (HSA) offers a triple tax benefit. Your contributions reduce taxable income, the money grows tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses come out tax-free.

For 2026, you can contribute up to $4,400 for self-only coverage or $8,750 for family coverage, plus an extra $1,000 if you’re 55 or older. Your health plan needs a deductible of at least $1,700 for an individual plan or $3,400 for family coverage to qualify as an HDHP.

You can make contributions to an HSA right up to the tax filing deadline. And unlike a healthcare flexible spending account (FSA), the money stays yours, even if you leave a job, and you don’t have to spend it by a certain deadline. In fact, if you can afford to cover current medical bills out of pocket, your HSA can act like a second retirement account for healthcare costs later in life.

3. Time your equipment purchases

If you need a new truck, computer system, or piece of machinery, consider buying it before year-end. You can use Section 179 expensing or bonus depreciation to write off the entire cost of equipment placed in service during the year.

Section 179 lets you deduct up to $2,560,000 in qualifying equipment and software, although that limit shrinks if you have more than $4,090,000 in total purchases.

Bonus depreciation lets you write off 100% of qualifying property.

The key phrase here is “placed in service.” The equipment has to be set up and ready to work before year-end to qualify.

4. Claim the Qualified Business Income deduction

The Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction lets owners of pass-through businesses, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), and S corporations, deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income.

Claiming this tax break involves complicated income limitations and rules around whether your business is a specified service trade or business (SSTB), so it’s a good idea to discuss this one with a tax professional.

5. Put your kids on the payroll

When your children work for your business, their wages are a business deduction. If you run a sole proprietorship (or a partnership owned only by the child’s parents), wages you pay a child under 18 aren’t subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes, and wages to a child under 21 avoid federal unemployment tax.

Better still, your child can earn up to the 2026 standard deduction ($16,100) without owing federal income tax. You move income out of your bracket and into theirs (potentially 0%). Plus, since they now have earned income, you can contribute to a Roth IRA for them.

The key to making this deduction work is that your kids have to do real work in the business. For example, they might handle filing, cleaning, social media, inventory, or data entry. Pay them a reasonable wage for the task, keep time sheets, and deposit the paychecks into the child’s account.

6. Reimburse yourself through an accountable plan

When your business covers your car, home office, and cell phone, an accountable plan ensures the company gets the tax deduction, and you get the tax-free benefit. An accountable plan is a written reimbursement policy that requires a business purpose, documentation (such as receipts or a mileage log), and prompt return of any excess.

This is how S corporation and C corporation owners, who work as employees of their own companies, deduct work-related expenses. Employees can no longer deduct unreimbursed work expenses on their personal returns, so without an accountable plan, those costs aren’t deductible. With one, the company deducts them, and you receive the reimbursement tax-free.

One more thing about deducting business mileage this year: The IRS set the business rate at 72.5 cents per mile in January, then raised it to 76 cents for miles driven from July 1 through December 31. Split your 2026 mileage log at June 30 so you claim the right rate for each half of the year.

7. Consider a PTET election to sidestep the SALT cap

If you live in a state with an income tax, talk to your tax advisor about a pass-through entity tax (PTET) election. This lets partnerships and S corporations pay state income tax at the business level. The business deducts that tax on its federal return, so owners can avoid the individual SALT cap, and owners generally receive a state credit or exclusion for the tax the business paid.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions to $40,400 for 2026, but the cap phases out once your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) exceeds $505,000, bottoming out at $10,000.

Not all states have PTET elections, and every state has different PTET elections, deadlines, and prepayment rules. But if you operate as a partnership or S Corp and live in a state with a state income tax, talk to a tax advisor about whether you can benefit this year.

8. Play the calendar

If your business uses cash-basis accounting, you have more control over when you pay taxes than you might realize. Near year-end, you can defer income by holding late-December invoices until the end of the month, so the payments arrive in January. You can also accelerate deductions by paying January bills and supplies before December 31, prepaying certain expenses, and paying employee bonuses before the year closes.

Keep in mind that deferring income and accelerating expenses delays the tax but doesn’t erase it. The move pays off when you expect the same or a lower tax rate next year. If you expect a big income jump in 2027, flip the strategy and pull income into 2026 instead. And never defer so much that you starve your cash flow.

For higher earners, timing can be especially helpful because of income cliffs. For example, the 3.8% net investment income tax applies when you have more than $200,000 in MAGI for single filers and $250,000 for joint filers. If you’re close to that threshold, deferring income to next year can lower your tax bill.

Other tax breaks have income limitations, like education tax credits and the qualified business income (QBI) deduction for specialized service trades or businesses (SSTBs). Shifting income by even a few thousand dollars can make a big difference in your tax bill.

9. Give smarter

If you claim the standard deduction instead of itemizing, you likely haven’t benefitted from charitable deductions for a while. That changed in 2026.

You can now deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 for married couples) of cash gifts you make directly to public charities even if you claim the standard deduction.

Itemizers can only deduct gifts above 0.5% of AGI. So, for example, with a $250,000 AGI, you can’t deduct the first $1,250 of giving. And if you’re in the 37% bracket, your itemized deductions now save you a maximum of $0.35 per dollar.

But there are a few tax strategies that can help you maximize the tax benefits of your giving. For example, you can donate appreciated stock you’ve held for more than a year. This lets you skip the capital gains tax you’d pay if you sold it, and you can generally deduct the full market value on the date of the donation.

Another strategy is to bunch two or three years of gifts into one year. This helps you clear the 0.5% floor once, itemize that year, and take the standard deduction in between. And if you’re 70½ or older, a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) sends money straight from your IRA to a charity without impacting your AGI. After 73, it can also count toward your required minimum distribution (RMD).

10. Harvest investment losses

From time to time, your investment portfolio might have a few underachievers. Tax-loss harvesting lets you benefit from them. When you sell an investment at a loss, that loss offsets other capital gains dollar for dollar. And if your losses exceed your gains, you can deduct up to $3,000 of the excess against ordinary income ($1,500 if married filing separately) and carry the rest forward to future years.

If you decide to try tax loss harvesting, watch the wash-sale rule. This tricky tax rule says if you buy the same or a “substantially identical” investment within 30 days before or after the sale, the IRS disallows the loss.

The best tax move is a plan

You don’t need to take advantage of all ten tax moves on this list to make a big difference on this year’s tax return. Most of our clients see great results from three or four moves that fit their situation and work together. For example, they might make a retirement contribution that also helps them maximize their QBI deduction, or time an equipment purchase with playing the calendar year. The real savings come from running the numbers and seeing which combination of tax moves results in the best overall financial outcome, this year and in future years.

If you need help creating your tax time game plan, contact NewWay Accounting. We can review your year-to-date numbers, identify the moves that fit your business and your goals, and help you act while these tax saving strategies are still on the table.