Maximizing Strategic Year-End Tax Planning

Maximizing Strategic Year-End Tax Planning

From It Depends by Hantzmon Wiebel

October 15, 2025 · 14 min · Season 1 · Episode 19

About this episode

This episode discusses strategies for maximizing year-end tax planning to lower tax bills and prepare for the upcoming year.

Maximizing Strategic Year-End Tax Planning — As the year ends, taxpayers have an important chance to review their finances and make moves that can lower their 2025 tax bill. With the state and local tax (SALT) deduction limit increasing from $10,000 to $40,000, more people may benefit from prepaying state taxes before year-end—especially those who itemize deductions. If your income has increased in 2025, confirm your estimated payments and withholdings match your expected liability. Adjusting year-end withholdings can help avoid penalties since these are treated as paid evenly throughout the year. It’s also a good time to maximize retirement contributions—401(k) and 403(b) limits are $23,500, plus catch-up options for those 50 and older. Taxpayers not covered by employer plans should review IRA or Roth IRA opportunities. With the higher SALT limit, charitable gifts are more likely to provide a tax benefit. Consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) from an IRA to give directly to charity while lowering taxable income. Those turning 73 in 2025 must take required minimum distributions to avoid penalties, and families can make tax-free gifts up to $19,000 per person ($38,000…

People in this episode

Host: Hantzmon Wiebel

Topics covered

  • tax planning
  • year-end strategies
  • retirement contributions
  • charitable giving
  • SALT deduction
  • financial review

Keywords

  • tax planning
  • SALT deduction
  • retirement contributions
  • charitable gifts
  • IRA
  • QCD
  • financial review

More episodes of It Depends

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the It Depends podcast page.