Year-End Financial Planning Strategies for Busy Professional Women
As the year winds down, it offers a natural pause—a moment to reflect, refine, and bring greater clarity to your financial life. For accomplished women balancing leadership, family, caregiving, and the evolving demands of life, this season is an opportunity to realign your plan with what matters most.
Your financial life should grow with you—adapting to new chapters, shifting responsibilities, and the vision you hold for your future. Beyond preserving your portfolio, year-end planning is about making intentional decisions that support the life you’re building and the legacy you want to create.
Before the year closes, it’s wise to revisit key areas such as tax planning, charitable giving, savings goals, and investment strategy. With considerations like longevity, caregiving, and competing demands on time and capital, thoughtful year-end planning helps ensure your resources are working for the life you’ve built—and the one you envision ahead.
Let’s explore several year-end financial strategies professional women may want to focus on now.
Year-End Tax Opportunities Every Professional Woman Should Consider
Year-end tax planning involves more than reducing your tax bill for the current year — it’s also about minimizing your lifetime tax liability and aligning your resources with what matters most.
Strategies like charitable contributions, tax-loss harvesting, and maximizing retirement contributions can reduce taxable income while reinforcing your long-term vision.
For many accomplished women, generosity is more than a financial act—it’s an expression of values, purpose, and legacy. Thoughtful giving can reduce your taxable income while creating meaningful impact, whether through local organizations, global initiatives, or causes close to your heart.
Charitable Giving
Recent tax law changes, including updates from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), have expanded options for charitable giving. These changes offer more flexibility in how your donations can reduce taxable income—whether you take the standard deduction or choose to itemize.
Starting in 2026, if you claim the standard deduction, you may now include charitable contributions of up to $1,000 as an above-the-line deduction. For those who itemize, the threshold is broader—charitable contributions must exceed 0.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) to qualify. For example, if your AGI is $300,000, your charitable contributions would need to total at least $1,500 to be eligible for deduction.
It’s important to remember that charitable deductions don’t provide a dollar-for-dollar reduction in taxes. Instead, they reduce taxable income—lowering your tax liability while amplifying the good your money can do.
Of course, always consult your tax professional and financial advisor to receive the best advice for your situation.
Should You Establish a Donor-Advised Fund?
Writing a check to a favorite cause is always meaningful—but it’s not always the most strategic approach. If you’d like to make charitable giving an ongoing part of your financial plan, a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) can be an efficient and impactful way to do so.
A DAF is a giving-focused investment account managed by a sponsoring organization. Once established, you can contribute cash or appreciated assets—such as stocks, property, or business interests—receive a tax deduction for the year the contribution is made (within IRS limits), and allow the assets to grow tax-free inside the fund. You can then recommend grants to qualified 501(c)(3) charities at your own pace.
This approach can be particularly useful if you’d like to “bunch” multiple years of donations into a single contribution. For instance, if you typically donate $20,000 annually, you could contribute three years’ worth ($60,000) to your DAF in one year, take the full deduction now, and still direct $20,000 each year to your chosen organization.
Beyond the tax benefits, a DAF can help simplify the giving process—especially when donating non-cash assets—and allows your philanthropy to grow alongside your investments.
Don’t Forget to Get the Whole Family Involved
Philanthropy isn’t only a tax strategy — it’s also an opportunity to share values across generations. Including your adult children or grandchildren in giving decisions can deepen connection and reinforce a shared sense of purpose.
At year-end, reviewing your gifting approach not only maximizes tax efficiency but can also be an opportunity to engage the next generation. The charitable fund becomes not just a financial vehicle, but a source of connection and shared purpose for your family.
Tax-Loss Harvesting
Throughout the year, your portfolio experiences both gains and losses. As year-end approaches, it’s worth reviewing whether underperforming assets could be used strategically through a process known as tax-loss harvesting.
This strategy involves selling investments at a loss to help offset capital gains from others that have performed well. While realizing a loss can feel counterintuitive, it may help reduce your overall tax liability—and sometimes, it’s an opportunity to reassess whether certain investments still align with your goals and values.
Example:
If you realized a $10,000 gain earlier in the year, selling other investments with a total loss of $10,000 effectively neutralizes the taxable impact. If your losses exceed your gains, up to $3,000 may offset ordinary income, and remaining losses carry forward to future years.
Be mindful of the wash-sale rule, which prevents repurchasing the same or substantially identical security within 30 days before or after the sale.
Optimizing Retirement Contributions
Whether you’re participating in a 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA, or Roth account, our message is simple and straightforward: Max out your contributions before the end of the year.
Contributions to traditional retirement accounts are tax-deductible, meaning your contributions will lower your taxable income for the year. The funds will grow tax-deferred over time, until withdrawn (ideally, in retirement). Only when you make withdrawals or take required minimum distributions will you need to pay ordinary income tax on the contributions and earnings.
For 2025, the annual contribution limit for 401(k)s and other employer-sponsored retirement plans is $23,500, or $31,000 for those 50 and older. Better yet, if you’re between the ages of 60 and 63, you can now take advantage of a supersized catch-up contribution, bringing your total contribution limit to $34,750.
IRAs and Roth IRAs have a lower contribution limit of $7,000 in 2025, or $8,000 for those 50 and older.
Maxing out your retirement contributions (if you’re able) is a win-win—it reduces your taxable income,and boosts your retirement savings at the same time.
You can also consider contributing to a Roth 401(k) or Roth IRA, which won’t reduce your taxable income for the year, but may produce tax-free income in retirement (as long as all criteria for qualified withdrawals are met). It’s not uncommon for a tax-diversified retirement income strategy to include both traditional, tax-deferred retirement accounts and tax-free accounts.
Review Recent Legislative Changes
Just as your personal financial circumstances can impact your tax bill each year, so can evolving legislative changes. Most recently, the OBBBA introduced some significant tax law updates, which impact virtually every taxpayer.
Some of the highlights include:
- Increased standard deduction made permanent (originally set to revert back to pre-2017 levels, adjusted for inflation)
- Increased estate tax exemption limit made permanent (also set to revert back to lower levels in 2026)
- New above-the-line deductions
- New super senior standard deduction
- Removal of certain energy-focused tax credits and deductions
This is not an extensive list by any means, but it does show just how sweeping new tax laws can be. The good news is, those who are already working with an advisor or tax professional should be able to discuss recent changes with their team—and find opportunities to take advantage before the year ends.
Consider Your Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
Remember those tax-deferred retirement accounts we mentioned earlier? Your 401(k), 403(b), TSP, and IRA are all subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs) starting at age 73.
RMDs are tax-deductible, mandatory withdrawals based on the size of your account at the end of the previous year and your age. As this year-end approaches, first and foremost, be sure to take your RMDs if you’re required to do so. Neglecting to take RMDs can lead to hefty tax penalties, especially if not corrected in a timely manner.
If you don’t need the withdrawals to cover your expenses in retirement, RMDs can feel more like a tax burden than a blessing. So, you have a few options.
Drawdown Your Account Earlier
If you have a couple years before RMDs kick in, you could start strategically withdrawing from your 401(k) or IRA ahead of age 73 (as long as you’re at least 59.5 years old). Yes, it’ll create some tax liability in the years you withdraw. But spread across a greater number of years, you have the flexibility to be more strategic with how much and when you choose to withdraw.
Since RMDs are based on the account balance, this can help set you up for a lower tax hit later on in retirement, once they go into effect.
Roth Conversions
Don’t need the funds for at least five years? Similar to the idea of drawing down your account early, you could consider rolling over some of those funds into a Roth IRA. Doing so would lower your 401(k) or IRA balance and create potentially tax-free income later on in retirement.
The downside? You’ll still have to pay income tax on any amount rolled over to a Roth account, and you’ll need to wait at least five years before withdrawing from the account. But, if you’re still several years out from retirement, this could be an option worth considering—especially during low-income years.
Qualified Charitable Distributions
If it’s the eleventh hour and you don’t have time to implement a Roth conversion strategy, you could consider donating your RMDs directly to charity through a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD).
QCDs are sent directly from your IRA to a charity of your choice. They can be used to fulfill all or part of your RMD obligation, without increasing your taxable income. Notably, QCDs are only available for IRAs; they are not an option if you’re taking RMDs from a 401(k).
Just keep in mind, you’re not just saving on taxes here—you’re also forgoing all or part of your account withdrawal. Can you still cover your financial obligations and retirement goals comfortably without them? If not, you may be making a decision that’s too focused on taxes, without taking into consideration your broader financial picture.
Manage Wealth With Confidence and Meaning
As the year closes, revisiting your portfolio isn’t just about performance—it’s about alignment. Your investments should reflect both your financial goals and the values that guide your decisions.
Research shows that many women prefer investing in companies that make a positive social or environmental impact. Trends from Cerulli Associates and Morningstar highlight how women often view wealth as a means to create change, not just returns.
This makes year-end an ideal moment to reassess investment diversification, risk exposure, and recent market shifts. Rebalancing helps maintain your desired risk level while ensuring your plan stays on course.
Initiate Important Conversations
Women often play a central role in maintaining connection and continuity within their families. As the year draws to a close, consider using this season to open meaningful conversations about legacy, giving, and the future.
These don’t have to be formal—just honest discussions about your intentions, values, and hopes for the next generation. Transparency reduces uncertainty and strengthens trust across the family.
Legacy is not only about what you pass down—but why.
How Professional Women Can Build Wealth With Confidence
Your financial life should reflect who you are — your goals, your values, and the life you’re building. Taking time now for thoughtful year-end planning can help ensure your strategies evolve alongside your success and support the clarity you want in the year ahead.
The numbers are only part of the story. What matters most is how your planning supports the choices you make — how you spend your time, the impact you create, and the relationships you nurture.
Our team at Northstar Financial Planning specializes in helping successful women bring intention and structure to their financial lives. We’re here to help you make confident, informed decisions that support your goals—today and for years to come.
If you’d like an advisor to review your current plan or help you prepare for the year ahead, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our team at Northstar Financial Planning is here to guide you forward. Schedule your Discovery Call today.
Sources:
1. Women prefer values-based investing. Here’s what that might mean for their wealth.
2. Empowering Women to Invest: Closing the Investment Gap.
