2026 year-end checklist
Year-end moves for retirees managing distributions, giving, and an estate plan.
- By Dec 31
Take your 2026 RMD from each IRA, which can be aggregated, and from each 401(k), which can't.
- By Dec 31
Direct QCDs from your IRA custodian to charities and ask for written acknowledgments.
- By Dec 31
Complete any Roth conversion for 2026. Conversions can't be undone.
- By Dec 31
Make $19,000 annual exclusion gifts and any 529 contributions.
- By Dec 31
Check MAGI against the senior deduction phase-out and IRMAA tiers before realizing capital gains.
- By Dec 31
Connecticut residents: before a conversion or gain, check 2026 federal AGI against the state's $100,000 joint / $75,000 single lines for the full Social Security, pension, and IRA exemptions.
- Early 2027
If your income fell because you retired, file Form SSA-44 to ask Social Security to use current income for IRMAA.
- Within 9 months
After a spouse's death, file Form 706 to elect portability of the unused exemption. Form 4768 extends the deadline by 6 months, and estates not otherwise required to file have up to 5 years.
- Within 6 months
After a Connecticut resident's death, file Form CT-706 NT with the Probate Court even if no tax is due, or Form CT-706/709 with DRS if the Connecticut taxable estate exceeds $15 million.
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 recent returns and account balances, project your RMDs and Medicare premium tier, and tell you whether a Roth conversion or QCD could lower your federal and Connecticut tax over the next decade.