Year-End Financial Planning Checklist for Individuals
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What is year-end financial planning?
Year-end financial planning is the process of reviewing your finances, investments, and tax situation before December 31st. It's your opportunity to assess the past year, make strategic adjustments, and ensure you're on track to meet your long-term financial goals.
When should you start year-end financial planning?
Now. The sooner you start, the more options you'll have to optimize your tax situation and make strategic financial moves before the year closes.
Here is a year-end financial planning checklist to help you evaluate things from the past twelve months and plan for the year ahead.
Your Year-End Financial Checklist
1. Review Your Financial Plan
Ask yourself: Does your life look different than it did a year ago?
Did you have any significant changes like getting married, having kids, changing jobs, or making new investments? If so, those changes need to be reflected in your financial plan. If you have an existing plan, you'll want to review it and make any changes necessary to reflect these life events.
Don't have a financial plan yet? The end of the year is an excellent time to create one. A financial advisor can help you identify your goals and create a plan to achieve them.
Life events that require plan updates:
Marriage or divorce
Birth or adoption of children
Job changes or promotions
Home purchases
Major investments or inheritances
Health changes
2. Assess Your Investments
Take a close look at your investments and see how they're performing. Are you still comfortable with your current risk tolerance and asset allocation? If not, you may need to make some adjustments.
What to evaluate:
Investment performance compared to benchmarks
Current risk tolerance vs. portfolio allocation
Diversification across asset classes
Fees and expenses
It's also important to rebalance your portfolio regularly to ensure that it still aligns with your investment goals.
3. Review Your Tax Plan
Your financial and tax plans should be in sync, working together. Many of the things that impact your financial plan will affect your tax plan.
So, if you had any major life changes in the past year, you'll want to update your tax plan to ensure not only that your filing statuses and withholdings are up to date, but also that your tax plan is optimized for who you are now and who you want to be.
Key tax considerations for year-end:
Filing status changes
W-4 withholding adjustments
Tax-loss harvesting opportunities
Charitable contribution timing
Required minimum distributions (RMDs)
Estimated tax payment reviews
4. Maximize Your Retirement Contributions
How much can you contribute in 2025?
If you have a 401(k) or IRA, you'll want to evaluate the amount you're contributing and maximize your contributions for the year.
Even if you're not contributing the maximum amount allowed, you'll want to designate as much as you realistically can. Taking this step can lower your taxable income, which may be beneficial for your taxes AND help you save for retirement.
Why this matters: Retirement contributions reduce your taxable income now while building wealth for the future. It's one of the most powerful year-end tax and financial planning strategies available.
2025 contribution limits:
401(k): $23,500 (plus $7,500 catch-up if age 50+)
IRA: $7,000 (plus $1,000 catch-up if age 50+)
HSA: Varies by plan type
5. Review Your Estate Plan
If you have an established estate plan, you'll want to make sure it's all up to date by the end of the year. This includes looking at your will, living trust, and other estate planning documents and updating them as needed.
What to review in your estate plan:
Will and testament
Living trust documents
Beneficiary designations on accounts
Power of attorney documents
Healthcare directives
Guardian designations for minor children
Important: Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance policies supersede your will. Make sure these are current.
6. Make a Budget for the Next Year
Once you've reviewed your financial situation and made any necessary adjustments, it's time to create a budget for the upcoming year to keep you on track to meet your financial goals.
Your budget should reflect:
Actual spending patterns from the past year
Updated income (raises, job changes)
New financial goals
Anticipated major expenses
Adjusted savings targets
Why Year-End Financial Planning Matters
Strategic year-end planning helps you:
Take advantage of tax-saving opportunities before they expire
Ensure your financial plan reflects your current life situation
Maximize retirement savings
Start the new year with clarity and direction
Avoid last-minute tax surprises
Finishing Strong
The best way to start a new year off on the right track is to finish the closing year strong. By taking the time to do your year-end financial planning, you can set yourself up for financial success in the new year.
Have questions about your unique financial situation? Our team of expert advisors is ready to help! Contact us.