To Inform:

As January comes to a close, many New Year’s resolutions may already be fading, but it’s not too late to get your financial house in order. Acting now can help to ensure a strong finish to the 2025 tax year and set the foundation for a successful 2026. This week we’re sharing a practical checklist to help wrap up the 2025 tax season with confidence.

As many are well aware, April 15^th is the deadline to file your 2025 taxes, unless on extension for one reason or another. Collecting items like W-2s becomes a ritual of sorts (hopefully) but below are some other items to keep front of mind prior to April 15^th.

• Filing an Extension: Filing an extension via IRS Form 4868 prior to April 15^th gives you six more months to file your taxes. This can be helpful for some; however, all tax owed is still due by the April deadline to avoid penalty and interest. The extension is simply an extension for filing taxes, not the actual payment of tax.
• 1099 Forms from Custodians: For those with bank, brokerage, or retirement accounts, you can expect these tax documents by the end of February. Make sure these are provided to your tax preparer for each account in which a document is produced.
• Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): Ensure QCDs (Qualified Charitable Distributions) are correctly accounted for and share your qualified gifts amount with your tax preparer. The form 1099-R for IRAs is not required to show or specify these separate charitable distributions until tax year 2026. Even in 2026, if you utilize a checkbook for these gifts from your IRA, proper accounting is important. If specific gifts to charitable organizations are not correctly accounted for, these dollars may be in danger of being taxed as a normal distribution from your IRA.
• Backdoor Roth IRA Contributions: A backdoor Roth contribution strategy is commonly used by individuals who exceed the income limits for direct Roth IRA contributions. It involves making non-deductible contributions to a traditional IRA and then promptly converting those funds to a Roth IRA. It is important to inform your tax preparer when completing a backdoor Roth, since the 1099-R will simply show an IRA distribution. If this conversion is not properly reported, typically using the IRA Form 8606, the contribution could be mistakenly taxed as income. Form 8606 tracks your after-tax IRA basis and helps ensure the conversion is not taxed again.
• Retirement Account Contributions: While 401(k) and other employer-sponsored plan contribution deadlines are December 31^st of each year, you are still able to make contributions to IRAs, SEP IRAs, Roth IRAs, and HSAs for tax year 2025 all the way up to April 15, 2026. Maximizing contributions to these accounts can be a great way to lower taxable income and add to savings for the future. There are income thresholds for deductible contributions to traditional IRAs and direct contributions to Roth IRAs. There are also contribution limits for all these accounts, so you will want to keep this in mind when proceeding with any of these options.
• Donor-Advised Fund Contributions: For many, a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) account is an important part of their tax planning and charitable goal. If you contributed to a DAF account during 2025, it is important that you give your tax preparer the consolidated tax letter you receive from your DAF sponsor. This letter is a receipt of all contributions to your DAF and ensures you receive credit for any gifts of securities or cash you made throughout the year.

There is more to share, but this covers many high points as we lean into this taxing season. If you have questions regarding any of these items, reach out to one of our Wealth Advisors at The Joseph Group. As always, when it comes to tax planning, we are here to quarterback for you, but it is ultimately up to your tax professional to provide advice when it comes to your specific tax situation.

Written by Alex Jenney, Wealth Advisory Associate