Managing your money doesn’t need to be scary. The Illinois CPA Society offers six year-end money moves to put you on track toward stress-free finances and tax-time savings.

CHICAGO, Oct. 22, 2025 – Nearly three-quarters of Americans say their financial situation impacts their mental well-being, and 69% feel insecure about their finances, according to WalletHub’s Financial Insecurity survey. That same survey found that about two in five people are scared to ask for financial advice. If you’re one of those people, now’s the time to face your fears and revisit your financial plans.

With the end of the year quickly approaching, there are important money moves to make now that could potentially lower your 2025 tax bill and reduce your financial fears. Here are six tax-savvy tips to set you up for 2026.

1. Revisit Work Retirement Contributions: Now’s the time to see if you’re on track for maximizing your retirement account contributions for the year. Payroll contributions to tax-deferred retirement accounts—like your employer’s 401(k) or 403(b)—reduce your taxable income, thus lowering your tax bill. The contribution limit in 2025 is $23,500, or $31,000 if you’re age 50 or older. A new “super catch-up” contribution amount is available for employees ages 60-63, allowing for a potential contribution of $34,750. Whenever you’re able to do so, adjusting your payroll deductions to maximize your tax-deferred savings is generally a smart tax move—especially if your employer matches contributions.
2. Max Out an IRA: Depending on your income level, you may be eligible to make tax-deductible contributions to a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) outside of, or in addition to, an employer-sponsored account. The 2025 contribution limit to a traditional IRA is $7,000, and an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution is allowed if you’re age 50 or over. Alternatively, you may want to invest in a future tax break. For the 2025 tax year, eligible individuals, regardless of whether they participate in an employer retirement plan, can contribute up to $7,000 (or $8,000 if age 50 or older) to a Roth IRA. Since contributions to Roth IRAs are made with after-tax money, investments grow tax free indefinitely. Nonworking spouses can also contribute to a Roth IRA if the working spouse has earned enough income during the tax year to cover both contributions.
3. Consider a Roth Conversion: If you’ve been putting all or most of your retirement savings into a tax-deferred traditional IRA or 401(k), converting all or some of those funds to a Roth IRA could help lower your future tax bills. While you’ll have to pay taxes on any money you convert in the year of the conversion, the converted funds will grow tax free moving forward, and qualified withdrawals are tax free as well. This could be a prudent move if you anticipate being in a higher tax bracket in the future. Better yet, Roth IRAs aren’t subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs). Also keep in mind that the funds from inherited Roth IRAs, although subject to RMDs, are also distributed tax free.
4. Don’t Forget Your RMD: If you turned, or will still turn, age 73 this year, it’s time to start taking your annual RMDs from your tax-deferred retirement accounts. While you can technically wait to do so until April 1, 2026, you’d then need to take two RMDs during 2026, which could push you into a higher tax bracket. The penalty for not taking your RMD is a steep 25% of the sum you should’ve withdrawn.
5. Harvest Investment Losses: Although the stock market has hit several record highs this year, you may still have investments (i.e., stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.) in a taxable brokerage account that have declined in value. If so, it’s time to consider selling them. Selling these investments will realize the losses, thus offsetting any realized capital gains. Capital losses offset capital gains without limitation, and an additional $3,000 of realized losses can reduce other taxable income (losses exceeding $3,000 will be carried forward to the next tax year).
6. Give Your Health Savings Account (HSA) a Check-Up: An unexpected medical bill is certainly something most of us fear. If eligible, a tax-smart way of setting aside money for qualified medical expenses while lowering your taxable income is to contribute the maximum amount allowed (or the maximum you can manage) to an HSA. HSAs offer several advantages, like paying no federal tax on the contributed funds or investment earnings if the money is used for qualified medical expenses. For 2025, the contribution limit is $4,300 for individuals or $8,550 for families; an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution is allowed if you’re 55 or older. This is the only “triple tax-free” option available to taxpayers—tax-free contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free disbursements for qualified healthcare expenses.

Need help take the fear out of tax and financial planning? A CPA—a certified public accountant—can help you strategically manage your finances all year long. And when tax time rolls around in a few months, a CPA can help prepare and file your tax return to ensure all eligible credits and deductions available are maximized. The Illinois CPA Society’s free “Find a CPA” directory can help you find the trusted, strategic advisor that’s right for you based on location, types of services needed, and languages spoken. Find your CPA at www.icpas.org/findacpa.