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The biggest mistake people can make is believing that tax planning only occurs from January to April. That’s what Bradley Geddes, a senior financial planner, often tells his clients at Decker Retirement Planning, a financial advisory firm in San Francisco.
There are a number of strategic tax opportunities individuals and families must take advantage of before Dec. 31, Geddes said, to maximize contributions to charity and minimize tax liabilities.
Unlike other financial advisory areas such as investment planning, tax planning is an area where you know the outcome, said Geddes, who has his Certified Financial Planner certification. Decision-making depends solely on the outcome a person wishes to optimize. While tax planning can vary slightly depending on the family’s income, Geddes emphasized that the best practices always stand across the income distribution, though higher-income individuals could see larger tax benefits.
“This isn’t about not paying your fair share,” Geddes said. “But when it’s someone paying more than they need to – half of their take home income is going out to various government entities, and they could have paid less – that’s what we’re trying to avoid with tax planning.”
Geddes tells his clients that there are two ways to categorize tax strategy: defensive and offensive. Defensive strategies are those that preserve assets and lower tax liabilities that year. Offensive techniques are bolder strategies that seek to maximize growth and savings or lower future tax liabilities.
Read on to learn about four charitable giving tax strategies that you should consider before 2026. All of these strategies must be employed by the end of the year to be eligible for tax benefits.
One is better than two
If you donate consistently to a charity, one big contribution is almost always going to be more advantageous than two small ones, Geddes said. The concept of consolidating several years’ worth of charitable donations into one year, sometimes called “bunching” or “lumping,” has the goal of pushing a person’s total itemized deductions above the standard deduction threshold. In off years, the taxpayer will claim the standard deduction. The bunching strategy may boost overall deductions and tax savings over a multi-year period, Geddes said, and the higher a person’s planned donations, the more this strategy can be of benefit.
When filing a U.S. tax return, taxpayers must choose between taking a standard deduction and an itemized deduction. According to the IRS, the standard deduction is a fixed dollar amount that reduces taxable income. In 2025, that dollar amount is $15,750 for single people and $31,500 for a married couple filing jointly. The standard deduction is generally considered the simpler of the two options.
An itemized deduction allows taxpayers to subtract specific, approved expenses from your adjusted gross income including property taxes, state and local taxes, mortgage interest, and gifts to charitable organizations. Itemized deductions require taxpayers to track their expenses, but could potentially allow for greater tax savings if the itemized deduction exceeds the standard deduction, resulting in lower taxable income.
Donor Advised Funds
Geddes also advised that any person who is a regular donor to a charity should have a Donor Advised Fund, or a DAF. In this account, taxpayers can contribute cash, stocks or property to a DAF for an immediate tax deduction, reducing their tax liability. DAFs are helpful, Geddes said, because they can be used flexibly to contribute money whenever the filer wishes, and they grow tax-free over time.
A DAF is sponsored by a nonprofit organization that legally owns the donated assets. Although money placed in a DAF is legally considered a charitable donation, it does not immediately reach operating nonprofits. The funds can sit in the account until the donor requests that the money be distributed, which means donors must actively follow through to ensure the money is ultimately used for charitable work.
“It can be easy to forget that that amount is actually not going to be used by you.” Geddes said. “It’s used by the charity down the road, so don’t forget to actually give it to the charity to do the good that you’re hoping to.”
Qualified Charitable Distributions
Another useful tool useful for older taxpayers is a device called a Qualified Charitable Distribution that allows you to redirect retirement savings tax-free to a charity. When taxpayers reach 73 years old, the IRS mandates that filers take Required Minimum Distributions from most tax-deferred accounts such as traditional IRAs and 401(k)s. Geddes said that while many retirees begin withdrawing from their retirement accounts and are taxed on that amount, some retirees find that they do not actually need that money in their retirement account, but are required by law to take the RMD.
“The cardinal sin of bad tax planning is when you are forced to pay taxes on something that you didn’t need,” Geddes said. “And the sad thing is, now they’re forced to pay taxes on this money that is pushing their income taxes higher every year, and they didn’t actually need it.”
To address this, taxpayers can use a Qualified Charitable Distributions to route the required distribution directly to a charity, with the taxpayer receiving a tax write-off for that donation. The tax-deferred assets are a win-win, Geddes said, because charities don’t pay taxes on the gift and the taxpayer had tax-free growth on the donation.
Roth conversion with charitable contributions
A more “offensive” strategy, Geddes said, is completing a Roth conversion with charitable offset. This strategy is a bit more complex, but requires converting a tax-deferred retirement account such as an IRA or 401(k) account to a tax-free Roth IRA. A Roth conversion increases your taxable income, but a charitable donation made in the same year—if you itemize—can help offset part of that tax bill.
“I tell my clients we’re going to pay the tax liability when it’s the smallest,” Geddes said. “There’s more taxes due in the future if you compound that IRA and grow it, than if we just paid it now.”
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