By Brent Gargano, CFP®

August 2026  |  Infinite Wealth Planning

Your tax return is supposed to be the “final word” on your income for the year. You’d hope that means it’s accurate. In practice, things get missed or reported incorrectly more often than you might think. The forms only capture part of the story, and many tax strategies require proper communication and coordination with a CPA. So much good tax planning can go to waste when it comes to the follow-through. Here’s how I’ve seen that in my career:

When I was at Fidelity, we used to suggest that high earners make what’s called a “backdoor Roth IRA contribution.” It’s a strategy that lets someone who otherwise makes too much money to contribute to a Roth directly do it anyway. Simple to implement, and genuinely valuable.

What we didn’t know to explain was what happens if it’s recorded incorrectly on your tax return. Get the reporting wrong and the conversion can mistakenly show up as an extra $7,500 of taxable income for the year ($15,000 for a married couple doing it for both spouses), not because the strategy failed, but because the form doesn’t tell the correct story unless someone makes sure it does. At a 24% federal bracket, that’s roughly $1,800 per person in extra tax. At the top federal bracket, $2,775. And that’s before state taxes, which stack on top of whatever the federal hit is. That’s money lost simply to a reporting mistake, and it’s an easy fix if you know to call it out.

Since starting Infinite Wealth Planning in 2022, we’ve taken a more hands-on approach. We still recommend backdoor Roth contributions regularly, but instead of just making the suggestion, we follow through to make sure the information actually shows up right on the return. That follow-through has caught many errors in client returns, sometimes preventing clients from paying taxes they didn’t actually owe.

That’s the real case for tax planning. It’s not just the recommendation; it’s making sure the work you’re already doing doesn’t go to waste through improper reporting.

Every March, we go looking through draft tax returns for exactly this kind of thing. We almost always find something.

As we head toward the final few months of 2026, we’re starting to look closely at client income situations, projecting roughly where their income will end up for the year, and discussing strategies to help lower their total lifetime tax bill. These projections serve as the basis for tax decisions during the year and a reference point for the tax return generated in April.

What We’re Doing for Clients Right Now

The backdoor Roth is just one example. There are several moves worth reviewing before the calendar turns, and most of them share the same trait: they only pay off if they’re actually implemented and captured the right way. Here are a few things on our list right now.

Gain and loss management, together. Loss harvesting gets all the attention, but it’s only half the picture. In the right circumstances—a low-income year, a gap before Social Security or RMDs start, or room left in the 0% capital gains bracket—realizing gains on purpose can be just as valuable as harvesting losses. Loss harvesting often creates value by deferring taxes; gain harvesting can sometimes eliminate a future tax liability altogether by intentionally realizing gains at a 0% rate.

Roth conversions. If this was a lower-income year for you, or you expect to be in a higher bracket later, it can make sense to convert a portion of pre-tax retirement accounts over to Roth. Doing this creates income today, increasing this year’s tax bill, but the money grows tax-free and can be used later without creating additional taxable income. This can give you more flexibility to strategically manage distributions and taxes year over year in retirement.

Managing the cliffs and phaseouts, not just the brackets. Tax brackets phase in gradually. Many other thresholds don’t. Crossing the wrong income line by a single dollar can trigger materially higher Medicare premiums two years later through IRMAA. Sometimes what looks like an attractive opportunity to recognize income based on your tax bracket can cause you to lose eligibility for certain credits and deductions due to phaseouts, or push more of your Social Security into taxable income. Being aware of these thresholds, and managing income around them, can be incredibly valuable to a plan long term.

Contributions. 401(k), IRA, and HSA limits reset every January. We’re checking every client’s numbers now to see who still has room to contribute before the year closes. For 2026, individuals can contribute up to $24,500 to their 401(k) plans, plus a potential catch-up contribution. IRA limits are up to $7,500. HSA limits are $4,400 for individual coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, with an additional $1,000 catch-up if you’re 55 or older. This time of year is a great moment to check these numbers and make sure you’re on track.

Charitable giving. How you give matters as much as how much. Bunching several years of donations into a donor-advised fund, or directing a Qualified Charitable Distribution straight from an IRA if you’re 70½ or older, can be worth meaningfully more than writing a check in December.

What This Means for You

None of these moves work well crammed into the last week of December. They take time to model, coordinate with your CPA, and execute correctly. That’s why this starts now. As we get toward year-end, we’ll be working more and more to get these strategies executed on time.

We want to identify the opportunities that exist for you, execute on them while there’s still time, and make sure the planning ultimately lands correctly on your tax return.

If we haven’t already scheduled your year-end review, let’s fix that.