2026 year-end checklist
Open enrollment and year-end moves that can lower your tax, with steps for RSU vests and New York commuters.
- Open enrollment
Elect the $7,500 dependent care FSA if you pay for daycare or after-school care. In the 12% bracket with two or more kids, compare it with the child care credit first.
- Open enrollment
Compare an HSA-eligible plan against a PPO using your expected care, and elect payroll HSA contributions.
- By Dec 31
Increase your final 401(k) deferrals to reach $24,500, plus the catch-up if you are 50+.
- By Dec 31
Check year-to-date withholding against RSU vests and bonuses, and adjust your W-4 for the last paychecks.
- By Dec 31
Bunch charitable gifts or use a donor-advised fund if you're close to itemizing.
- By Dec 31
Fund a CHET 529 account to use Connecticut's 2026 subtraction of up to $5,000, or $10,000 on a joint return. Only contributions made during the year count.
- By Jan 15, 2027
Pay the final 2026 Connecticut estimate (Form CT-1040ES) if your Connecticut tax after withholding will be $1,000 or more, for example because a New York employer withholds only New York tax or RSU vests were under-withheld.
- By Apr 15, 2027
Make 2026 IRA and HSA contributions, including backdoor Roth steps.
- At filing
Pull qualified overtime and tips from your W-2 and claim the new deductions on Schedule 1-A. Tips you didn't report to your employer go on Form 4137.
Dates assume a calendar-year taxpayer. Some items require plan documents or elections that only your advisor or plan provider can complete.
Run this checklist with a tax advisor
In a consultation, we look at your pay stub, benefit elections, and equity awards, estimate your federal, Connecticut, and any New York tax for the year, and tell you whether your withholding or deferrals should change.