Key takeaways

  • The end of the calendar year is a good time to review your finances and ensure that you’re on track to meet your goals.
  • A few year-end steps – like completing your retirement plan contributions or distributions and making charitable donations or gifts – can help prepare you for success in the coming year and beyond.
  • Tax-loss harvesting may help you offset capital gains taxes, but you should keep the wash sale rule in mind.

Contributors

Adam Frank

Managing Director, Head of Wealth Planning and Advice, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management

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Adam Frank

Head of Wealth Planning and Advice

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management

Adam Frank:

Do you ever feel like the end of the year sneaks up on you and suddenly you're rushing to get your finances in order? What if I told you that with just a few simple steps, you could start the new year feeling more confident about your financial plan? Here are six strategies to help you get started.

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'6 Year-end Planning Strategies'

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'1. Retirement Plans & Contributions'

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'April 15th 2026 is deadline to make contributions for 2025'

Adam Frank:

First up, retirement accounts. Did you know you have until April 15, 2026, to make contributions for 2025? And if you run a business, the deadline is even later.

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'If you run a business the deadline is even later'

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Thanks to new tax rules, there are more ways to save, so, check your contributions, and plan ahead.

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'2. Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)'

Adam Frank:

Number two, required minimum distributions (or RMDs). If you're 73 or older, remember to take your required minimum distributions.

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'Deadline for RMDs

If you're 73 or older, you can wait until April 1st of the following year for your first one.'

Adam Frank:

You can wait until April 1st of the following year for your first one, but after that, it's due by December 31st each year.

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'After that it's due by December 31st each year.'

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'If you wait to take your first RMD, you'll need to take two RMDs in the year you turn 74.'

Adam Frank:

If you choose to wait to take your first RMD, just remember you'll need to take two RMDs in the year you turn 74. Missing the deadline could mean penalties.

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'3. Harvest Investment Losses'

Adam Frank:

Number three, harvest investment losses. You may be able to use those losses to offset gains and potentially reduce your taxable income, but watch out for the wash sale rule.

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'Wash sale rule

Occurs when you purchase for a loss a "substantially identical" replacement security within 30 days before or 30 days after the sale date.'

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You can't buy the same security within 30 days before or after your sale, or you may not be able to use the deduction on your 2025 taxes. Consult your tax professional to talk about your individual situation.

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'4. Consider Your Stock Options'

Adam Frank:

Number four, consider your stock options. If you are not subject to the alternative minimum tax, you may be able to exercise incentive stock options without paying significantly more tax.

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'Incentive stock options

An incentive stock option (ISO) is a qualified stock option that provides added tax benefits to employees. ISOs are usually issued by publicly-traded companies, or private companies planning to go public at a future date.'

Adam Frank:

Consult with your advisor and your tax professional if you have incentive stock options and you're thinking about exercising them.

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'5. Donate to Charity'

Adam Frank:

Number five, donate to charity. Did you know that charitable giving can help your taxes too? But new rules mean that starting in 2026, if you itemize, you'll only be able to deduct gifts that are more than half a percent of your adjusted gross income.

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'2026 Charitable Deduction Changes

  1. Only gifts exceeding 0.5% of your adjusted gross income are deductible if you itemize
  2. Donate stocks or bonds whose value has grown to potentially avoid capital gains tax'

Adam Frank:

If you donate stocks or bonds whose value has grown, you might be able to avoid capital gains tax. And if you're over 70 and a half, you can give directly from your IRA, up to $108,000 in 2025.

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'3. If over age 70 1/2, give up to $108,000 directly from your IRA in 2025'

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'6. Make Gifts Before Year-End'

Adam Frank:

And finally, make gifts before year end. If you want to give a little extra this year, you can give up to $19,000 per person without triggering taxes or filing a form. And if you're married, that's $38,000.

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'2025 Gift Limits

  1. Give up to $19,000 per person tax-free
  2. Married couples: up to $38,000 per recipient
  3. Use your limit by December 31'

Adam Frank:

If you don't use this amount before December 31st, you won't be able to carry it forward into 2026. So, spread some cheer. See, year-end planning doesn't have to be overwhelming. Review your finances, talk to your advisor, and focus on these six steps to start your new year on the right foot. If you have questions, reach out; we're here to help.

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J.P. Morgan Wealth Management.

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Ready to make the most of your year-end planning? Connect with a J.P. Morgan advisor to build a strategy that fits your life.

Adam Frank:

Ready to make the most of your year-end planning? Connect with a J.P. Morgan advisor to build a strategy that fits your life.

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'JPMORGAN.COM/WEALTHPARTNERS'

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Legal disclosures begin in bold:

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(In bold) 'JPMorgan Chase and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your personal tax, legal and accounting advisors for advice before engaging in any transaction.'

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'The views, opinions, estimates and strategies expressed herein constitutes the speaker's judgment based on current market conditions and are subject to change without notice, and may differ from those expressed by other areas of J.P. Morgan. This information in no way constitutes J.P. Morgan Research and should not be treated as such. You should carefully consider your needs and objectives before making any decisions --including whether the services, products, asset classes (e.g. equities, fixed income, alternative investments, commodities, etc.) or strategies discussed are suitable to your needs. You must also consider the objectives, risks, charges, and expenses associated with any investment or financial service, product or strategy prior to making an investment decision. For additional guidance on how this information should be applied to your situation, you should consult your advisor.

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Copyright 2025 JPMorgan Chase & Co.

As the year comes to a close, here are six strategies to consider when thinking about your finances. Consider talking to a J.P. Morgan representative and your legal and tax advisors to help you with your year-end planning.

Retirement plans/accounts and contributions

Contributions to a traditional or Roth IRA for 2025 must be made by the due date for filing your 2025 income tax returns (not including extensions) – or April 15, 2026. Review what you have already contributed for 2025 and plan for any future retirement contributions.

If you own a business and want to set up a retirement account for your business, the SECURE Act extended the deadline to set up and fund most employer-sponsored qualified retirement plans to the sponsor’s tax filing deadline, including extensions (generally September 15 or October 15 of the following year, depending on the type of entity).

Thanks to the SECURE Act 2.0, there have been additional changes to IRA contribution rules that began in 2024 and continue to be in effect for the foreseeable future. We recommend reviewing these changes and working with a legal advisor and tax professional to plan out your retirement contributions.

Required minimum distributions (RMDs)

Take any required minimum distributions from your own retirement accounts before December 31 to avoid stiff penalties. Under SECURE Act 2.0, the age at which individuals must take their first required minimum distribution rose to 73. You can defer your first RMD to April 1 of the year after the year in which you turn 73, but after your first RMD, subsequent RMDs must be taken by December 31 of each year to avoid additional taxes.

As the result of final RMD regulations issued in 2024, no excise tax will be assessed for designated beneficiaries (and certain others) who inherited IRAs in 2020-2023 and did not take minimum distributions in 2021-2024. However, on January 1, 2025, those regulations became effective, and most beneficiaries are required to take RMDs in 2025 and beyond. These rules are complex, and we recommend clients consult with their own tax advisors before making decisions related to required distributions from inherited IRAs.

Harvest investment losses to offset capital gains, but beware of the wash sale rule

Using capital losses to offset gains may lower or eliminate capital gains taxes.

However, in order to deduct a loss from the sale of stock or securities in the year you make the sale, you must not trigger the wash sale rule. Among other requirements, this means that you must wait at least 30 days either before or after your sale date to repurchase a security you’ve sold for a loss or another security that is “substantially identical.” If you’re not sure whether a security is “substantially identical,” check with your accountant or other tax professional. The wash sale rule is highly complex, and you should consult your tax advisor regarding it.

Note that the wash sale rule applies only to disallow certain losses: You can repurchase a winning security that you had sold at a gain shortly before or after you sold it without triggering the wash sale rule.

Make gifts before year-end

In 2025, you can make an annual gift of up to $19,000 ($38,000 for married couples) to each recipient – the annual exclusion. If you don’t use your annual exclusion in a particular year, you lose it. Even if you are over the annual exclusion in a given year, you can make aggregate lifetime gifts of up to $13.99 million ($27.98 million for married couples) – the lifetime exemption applicable to 2025 – without triggering gift or estate taxes.

If you used your full lifetime exemption in 2024, you have an additional $380,000 ($720,000 for married couples) to give away this year due to annual inflation adjustments. The unified credit for gift and estate tax will increase to $15 million for 2026 and indexed for inflation after that.

Donate to charity this year

Charitable contributions may be deductible from U.S. federal taxable income if certain requirements are met and you itemize deductions. Making contributions in 2025 can help you to maximize the value of your charitable deduction based on two changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB).

First, the OBBB introduced a 0.5% floor for charitable gifts made beginning on January 1, 2026. Individuals who itemize can only deduct charitable contributions that exceed 0.5% of their adjusted gross income (AGI). Existing AGI limits, such as the 60% limit for cash contributions to public charities, remain in place. Contributions disallowed due to the AGI limits can be carried forward for five years. However, deductions carried forward from tax years beginning on or before January 1, 2026, are not subject to the newly imposed 0.5% floor. The allowable deduction is generally the fair market value of the gift, subject to adjustments.

Second, itemized deductions – including the charitable deduction – for taxpayers in the highest income tax brackets are reduced by 2/37. If you’re in the 37% bracket and you itemize your deductions, prior to January 1, 2026 each dollar contributed to charity would save you 37¢ in tax. As a result of the changes under the OBBB, that deduction would only save you 35¢ on your 2026 taxes and in future years.

If you think you may be subject to these limitations in the future, consider front-loading your charitable deductions into 2025. You can make direct gifts to end charities, or you can fund a donor-advised fund or private foundation. Speak with your J.P. Morgan representative or your tax advisor if you think you may be interested in an accelerated charitable strategy.

If you contribute qualifying appreciated property (most frequently stocks, bonds or other securities that have grown in value), you can generally qualify for the income tax deduction described above based on the full fair market value of the contributed property and avoid paying capital gains tax on the appreciation, so long as you’ve held that asset for at least a year, which can be a tax-efficient way of managing your charitable giving.

You can also consider making a “qualified charitable distribution” of up to $108,000 (for 2025) from your IRA or an inherited IRA – but only if you are over age 70½. A qualified charitable distribution does not give you an income tax deduction, but the amount of the distribution also is not includible in your income for 2025 even though it counts as part of your required minimum distribution (if you’re subject to RMDs).

Consider your stock options

If you will not be subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) in 2025, consider exercising vested in-the-money incentive stock options, as this may have little or no U.S. federal income tax consequence.

The bottom line

The end of the year can be a good time to review your financial situation and ensure that you’re on track to meet your goals. These year-end steps can be a good place to start. Speaking with a financial advisor and your legal and tax advisors can be helpful to strategize and set yourself up for success next year and beyond.

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Tax loss harvesting may not be appropriate for everyone.  If you do not expect to realize net capital gains this year, have net capital loss carryforwards, are concerned about deviation from your model investment portfolio, and/or are subject to low income tax rates or invest through a tax-deferred account, tax loss harvesting may not be optimal for your account. You should discuss these matters with your investment and tax advisors.

This material is for informational purposes only, and may inform you of certain products and services offered by J.P. Morgan’s wealth management businesses, part of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (“JPM”). Products and services described, as well as associated fees, charges and interest rates, are subject to change in accordance with the applicable account agreements and may differ among geographic locations. Not all products and services are offered at all locations. If you are a person with a disability and need additional support accessing this material, please contact your J.P. Morgan team or email us at accessibility.support@jpmorgan.com for assistance. Please read all Important Information.


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