Financial year-end planning: 10 actions to take before 2026

1. Create a goals-based plan

Establish a structured decision-making framework for your investments and goals. This can help provide clarity and consistency to ensure that your goals are aligned with your financial resources.

Ask your J.P. Morgan team about our proprietary Goals-Based planning tool to help analyze your risk exposure and cash flows and position your balance sheet to support your objectives and make decisions.

2. Review any changes in tax rules

Now is an opportune time to review with your tax advisor any changes to your country’s tax rules and when and how they might apply to you. 

In the U.S., the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was signed into law by President Trump on July 4. If you have investments in U.S. businesses or assets, there may be provisions in the OBBBA that impact you, for example, 100% bonus depreciation for qualified property.

3. Request 2025 “pro forma” tax returns

Ask your accountant for an approximation of what your 2025 taxes will be, based on the information to date. This “pro forma” may inform your decisions, including whether to accelerate or delay the recognition of certain deductible items.

Consider asking your J.P. Morgan team for a “tax summary” to help with your tax estimates. With this snapshot in hand, you can better assess if it makes sense to implement any additional planning strategies before year-end.

4. Harvest tax losses against gains

Tax-loss harvesting is a strategy that may reduce your tax liability.¹

To do it, you sell an investment at a loss. From here, you use this loss to offset either already-realized gains, or embedded gains that you realize now or in the future.

If you still like the asset, you can buy it back—so long as you are careful not to violate any rules in your home jurisdiction, for example, some countries have implemented measures that prevent investors from selling and repurchasing the same asset within a short period of time only to create a tax loss. 

 If you do not want to be out of the position for an entire month, you might “double up” on your position, then wait a period of time before selling the original loss position.

5. Hold the right amount of cash

We expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates around 100 basis points over the next 12 months. Focusing on fixed income with shorter maturities—those of around five to seven years—may help manage risk and take advantage of the current rate environment. Other planning moves to consider: 

• Assess your cash needs and holdings— It is recommended to have enough liquidity to cover one to five years of operating cash flow, provide a psychological safety net, fund large capital expenditures and allow for opportunistic investments.
• Establish a portfolio line of credit—Even if you never use it, having immediate access to cash can provide peace of mind—as well as help you avoid selling investments at the wrong time or unnecessarily realizing capital gains. Further, delaying realization of investment gains, coupled with any ongoing returns, may well outweigh borrowing costs, even at a time of higher interest rates. Generally, there is no cost to establish the credit line—and it ensures you have ready access to liquidity when you really need it.

6. Review life insurance policies

Review all your policies, including term coverage, to make sure they still meet your initial intent and if any changes need to be made.  Among the things to review, check:

• Who are named as beneficiaries.
• If the death benefit is the right amount.
• The policy owner; consider if it would be more advantageous to transfer ownership to a trust.

7. Review your estate & gift plan and charitable giving plan

Some countries already impose wealth or inheritance taxes, while others have been discussing them for years. Now is a good time to look at your balance sheet and decide if there are assets you want to transfer to younger family members or to charity.

You may wish to establish irrevocable trusts for your family members.² These trusts may be for children and grandchildren, or continue for many generations.

If you’re making gifts to family members living in the U.S., be mindful of gifting any U.S. tangible property, including cash, which could trigger U.S. gift tax. Speak with your attorneys and your J.P. Morgan wealth advisor about strategies to transfer wealth to the next generation. 

For charitable gifts, review your year-end gifting strategy and whether you can take a charitable deduction for your gifts. There are many ways to give to charity, from direct gifts to donor advised funds, or your own foundation. Establishing a plan for giving can ensure your charitable dollars have the most impact.

8. Host a family meeting

It’s never too early to start discussing money and family values with your children and grandchildren. End-of-the-year holiday gatherings, in addition to more formal family meetings, can be effective venues for aligning on values, disclosing age-appropriate information and building financial literacy skills. Over time, having regular discussions can help ensure your family is prepared to manage wealth responsibly and in accordance with the family’s principles.

9. Be cybersafe in an ever-changing world

As artificial intelligence apps and tools continue to become integrated into daily life, it's crucial to actively protect your data and privacy, especially from social engineering threats. We recommend that you:

• Create a new, dedicated email address when you sign up to use AI apps. Avoid using the email account you use for banking, work, social media or other personal services to minimize your exposure to phishing scams.
• Download reputable and licensed online tools and apps for better security and support.
• Verify sources and cross-check AI-generated information to avoid being manipulated.
• Avoid sharing sensitive personal information and be wary of AI attempts to extract your personal information.
• Watch out for AI-driven social engineering tactics, such as phishing emails, SMiShing (text phishing), vishing (voice phishing) or deepfakes (synthetic media scams) and question unexpected requests for sensitive personal information.

10. Make sure you’re getting the support you need

These are just a few examples of the many opportunities you may have right now to strengthen your financial health before year-end. 

Ask your J.P. Morgan team for help analyzing the opportunities and risks across your balance sheet. We will work closely with you and your other professional advisors to help you bring 2025 to a close and prepare for the year ahead.

The sooner you have these discussions, the more benefit you may be able to reap from your year-end planning.