April 15th is a calendar page away, so all those Tax Day procrastinators better get cracking.
While the time to file may be running out, there are some last-minute tax strategies advisors are recommending to clients to save them some money.
Janet Josey, managing director and head of tax at Quotient Wealth Partners, says the smartest last-minute move in today’s environment is not chasing deductions, but ensuring compliance with tightening rules by locking in safe harbor payments and clean, supportable positions before filing.
“The biggest mistake we’re seeing is clients treating filing as a deadline-driven exercise rather than a compliance exercise—rushing to file without complete documentation in a year where scrutiny is clearly increasing,” Josey said.
Meanwhile, David Mack, senior wealth management advisor at OpenArc, says the most critical strategy at this point is confirming that all eligible retirement account contributions have been fully completed. In his view, the most optimal time to review upcoming strategies is in the fourth quarter of the previous year to maximize charitable giving, tax loss selling and multiple other opportunities.
“The biggest mistake we see is trying to do tax planning in April for decisions that should be part of an ongoing, year round financial strategy. Taxes touch everything—from charitable goals and portfolio rebalancing to corporate benefits and retirement income planning—and those decisions are far more effective when made with a longer term lens, not at the filing deadline,” Mack said.
Elsewhere, Ronnie Jackson, partner and wealth advisor at Storen financial, reminds clients that they can make HSA contributions outside of their employer-based withholdings.
“You can save a significant amount of tax by maxing out your HSA, and you can make prior-year contributions until April 15th. Also, once you hit 70.5, you should never make a donation from your checkbook if you have a traditional IRA available, use the QCD provisions to your advantage,” Jackson said.
ROLLING (AND FILING) WITH THE CHANGES
When it comes to recent tax law changes or planning nuances that clients are still overlooking in 2026, Josey says one key nuance clients are missing is the shift toward enforcement-driven compliance. She says the OBBBA has significantly enhanced IRS visibility through third-party reporting and audit funding, making documentation, basis tracking, and proper characterization of income and deductions critical to sustaining positions on examination.
Meanwhile, Mack believes many clients still overlook how charitable deduction floors and caps can affect timing, especially the importance of managing gifts around AGI thresholds and Top bracket exposure.
“The most effective planning comes from coordinating donations, bonuses, deferrals, and gifting over multiple years so those decisions work together rather than in isolation,” Mack said.
Finally, Jackson says high-income earners routinely look for tax deferral, which is good for many reasons, but a deeper conversation around Roth utilization should still be had. There are plenty of modeling tools that show that leaning into Roth savings, even at elevated tax rates, tends to have an outsized impact on lifetime after-tax asset access, according to Jackson.
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