Tax Planning Starts After Tax Filing

April 27, 2025  | By Manisha Gupta, CFP®, MBA

While tax season may be behind us, thoughtful income tax planning is a year-round effort—and a critical piece of long-term financial success. Reviewing your completed tax return reveals inefficiencies and missed opportunities from the prior year.

However, navigating a complex tax return can be difficult, and keeping up with all the changing tax laws can be challenging.

CPAs are less busy after tax season, so it is a great time to ask for their attention to help with proactive tax planning for the current year — and it allows plenty of room before next year’s deadline to make changes.

In the coming weeks, we will reach out to clients to request their 2024 tax return. Once we receive the tax return, we will analyze it and meet with our clients to share any observations, tax planning recommendations, or simply confirm everything looks good as is.

Here are some common topics we evaluate for long-term planning and to minimize unnecessary taxes/penalties:

WITHHOLDINGS & ESTIMATED TAXES

• Are your withholdings or your estimated quarterly payments aligned with your income? If your income in 2025 will be different than 2024, your estimate may not be accurate.

RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTIONS

• Review eligibility for pre-tax and Roth retirement account contributions to ensure you are maximizing the tax advantages offered by these vehicles.

COMPANY STOCK

• Do you have stock options and/or equity compensation (e.g.,ISOs, NQSOs, RSUs) that could benefit from a tax-efficient liquidation strategy?
• Is your marginal income tax rate higher than the withholding rate on vested shares?

BUSINESS OWNERS: QBI DEDUCTION

• Develop strategies to maximize Section 199A QBI deductions for business owners.

INVESTMENTS: TAX LOSS HARVESTING

• Are there tax loss harvesting opportunities in your taxable investments?

RETIRED INVESTORS

• Should we consider a Roth conversion based on your eligibility, income, and long-term goals?
• Are you eligible for Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from your IRA?

CHARITY

• Could bunching your charitable giving help maximize your tax deductions?