It’s the end of December. You’re likely exhausted from the holidays, full of leftovers and ready to ring in 2026. The last thing you want to do is think about money.
But the calendar doesn’t care about your fatigue. Dec. 31 isn’t just a party date; it is the hard deadline for several “use it or lose it” financial rules. Missing them could cost you thousands of dollars in taxes or lost benefits.
The good news? You don’t need a CPA or a spreadsheet wizard. You can handle these tasks in the time it takes to watch a sitcom.
1. Drain (or Check) Your FSA
If you have a flexible spending account (FSA) for health care, you are playing a dangerous game of chicken with the IRS. Unlike Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), which roll over forever, FSAs are generally use-it-or-lose-it.
However, depending on your plan, there might be a small safety net. For the 2025 tax year, the IRS allows — but does not require — plans to carry over up to $660 of unused funds into 2026. So whether a plan allows for carrying over is ultimately up to the employer.
The 2-minute task:
Log in to your benefits portal right now. Find out if your plan allows you to carry over unused funds and, if so, how much can be carried over.
- If carrying over is not allowed: You need to spend all remaining funds immediately. You don’t need a doctor’s appointment; you can stockpile items like sunscreen, contact lens solution or prescription glasses online before midnight on Dec. 31.
- If carrying over is allowed: You’re safe if your remaining funds do not exceed the carryover limit. But if your funds do exceed that limit, spend the excess immediately on eligible products.
2. Bunch or Postpone Your Charitable Gifts
In order to lower your taxes, charitable contributions must be included as itemized deductions. Very few people have deductions exceeding the standard deduction for tax year 2025, which ranges from $15,750 to $31,500 for people under age 65.
The 2-minute task:
If you’re not able to itemize (in other words, your itemized deductions don’t exceed your standard deduction), you’re done. Nothing for you to do.
But if you can itemize and were planning to donate to charity in 2026, consider whether you’re better off doing it now. By bunching your 2026 donations into the final days of 2025, you maximize your itemized deductions for this year.
Tax laws will change next year, though, allowing people who claim the standard deduction to also deduct a certain amount of donations. So you might be better off waiting until 2026 to make another donation.
Crucial tip: If you donate by credit card, the IRS considers the date of the transaction (Dec. 31) as the donation date, even if you don’t pay the bill until January.
3. Harvest Your Losers
The stock market had a wild year. While you likely have winners, you almost certainly have a few dogs in your portfolio that lost value. You can sell those losers to offset your gains.
This is called tax-loss harvesting. You can use losses to cancel out capital gains dollar-for-dollar, and if you have more losses than gains, you can use up to $3,000 of the excess loss to offset your regular income. (You can read more about this here.)
The 2-minute task:
Check your brokerage account for positions showing a loss. If you don’t believe they will bounce back soon, sell them.
The deadline: You must execute the trade by 4:00 PM ET on Dec. 31. (Thanks to the new “T+1” settlement rules, trades executed on the last day of the year now officially count for that tax year).
4. Max Out the Gift Limit
If you’re fortunate enough to be helping a child or grandchild financially, you have a strict annual limit before the IRS gets involved.
For 2025, the annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per person, per donor, according to IRS inflation adjustments. That means that if you give someone gifts worth more than that amount this year, you will owe gift taxes.
The 2-minute task:
If you planned to give a family member $19,000 for a house down payment or tuition, write that check before Dec. 31.
Why? This limit resets on Jan. 1. If you give $19,000 on Dec. 31 and another $19,000 on Jan. 1, you have transferred $38,000 tax-free in 24 hours. If you wait and give it all in January, you effectively wasted your 2025 allowance, thereby increasing your tax bill for 2026 because your gift would be large enough to trigger the gift tax.
5. The Beneficiary Audit
This is the most important life admin task you can do. Life changes fast — marriages, divorces, births and deaths happen. Yet, millions of Americans have ex-spouses listed as the primary beneficiary on their 401(k) or life insurance policy.
The 2-minute task:
Log in to your primary financial accounts (bank, IRA, 401k). Click on “Profile” or “Beneficiaries.”
- Does the name listed match your current wishes?
- If you have a new grandchild, are they included?
It takes only minutes to check, but it can save your heirs years of probate court misery.
The Bottom Line
You have just hours left to lower your taxes and secure your benefits. So grab your phone during the next commercial break and check these items off your list. Your 2026 self will thank you.
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