Legislative shifts, evolving thresholds, and complex phaseouts have transformed the landscape in which CPA financial planners operate and how you serve your clients. What was once a routine exercise in tax bracket management has become a strategic and imperative balancing act. Year-end planning is now anything but routine, and a misstep could negatively affect a client.
In a recent episode of the AICPA Personal Financial Planning, Bob Keebler, CPA/PFS, a speaker at the upcoming AICPA Personal Financial Planning Symposium in January 2026, believes there are seven pressing issues affecting year-end planning. These areas and his additional insights offer a roadmap for how CPA financial planners can navigate this changed and complex landscape while prioritizing client-centered outcomes.
Seven critical planning areas
Keebler’s framework begins with a call to rethink everything we once assumed about year-end planning. “We need to shatter the prior paradigm,” he said. “The concepts are still there but all your typical go-tos need to be modified.”
There are seven areas he believes CPA financial planners should be the most concerned with when advising clients before year’s end.
Charitable giving and itemized deductions: Recent legislation has altered how deductions are phased out, especially for high-income clients.
Qualified small business stock (QSBS): These significant tax incentives under Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) offer opportunities that require careful timing and documentation.
State and local tax (SALT) and senior deductions: CPA financial planners should note the current temporary cap, phaseouts for high earners and seniors, and workarounds for business owners.
Section 199A phaseouts: These limit the qualified business income (QBI) deduction based on the total taxable income of a taxpayer. Overlapping phaseouts create hidden tax cliffs. “There’s a window during that phaseout where you’re phasing out for 199A and phasing out for SALT, and your incremental tax rate on the federal side is over 60%,” said Keebler, a 2024 Forbes’ top 200 CPA. “[A client] might be giving six- or seven-tenths of what they make to the government.”
Roth conversions: Income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA) premium thresholds can negatively affect Roth conversions because a large one-time conversion can raise your modified adjusted gross income during the conversion year. “The IRMAA premiums are probably going to go up,” advised Keebler. “Sticking your foot over that IRMAA line in that Roth conversion could be a fatal mistake.”
Gain and loss harvesting: Tactical moves remain relevant but must be integrated into broader strategy.
Tax shelter awareness: The IRS is cracking down on schemes promoted via social media, making your due diligence essential.
When working with clients and tracking all these legislative shifts, Keebler advises CPA financial planners to lean heavily on software. Software will be invaluable in organizing and tracking all the phaseouts. “No one can memorize all these phaseouts. There are eight or 10 different phaseouts,” said Keebler. “Use your software.”
Today’s choices shape tomorrow’s tax brackets
As a CPA financial planner, you will want to shift from short-term tactics to long-term strategies. Focusing on long-term projections, especially for clients approaching retirement, will be key, said Keebler.
A 15-year Excel model, he explained, can reveal the downstream impact of today’s decisions, such as Roth conversions or charitable gifts, on future required minimum distributions and estate planning outcomes.
One example involved a client who delayed IRA withdrawals for 15 years, only to face a significantly higher tax bracket later. “He missed the opportunity to convert at 15% and now faces 30%,” Keebler noted. “That’s why we plan ahead.”
During the podcast episode, Keebler also discussed how charitable giving can be aligned with estate goals. Accelerating donations during a client’s lifetime not only supports philanthropic intent but also delivers income tax benefits. Roth conversions, when timed and sized correctly, can complement these strategies, especially when paired with charitable deductions to manage bracket thresholds.
Keebler’s layered approach, dialing income up with conversions and down with charitable giving, offers a flexible framework for advisers navigating complex client scenarios.
Chances to build trust with year-end planning
With so many changes to deductions, phaseouts, and the tax code, clients will have questions and concerns. The year-end season is an opportunity to not just offer technical expertise but also deepen client relationships.
“If you demonstrate value and earn some trust with this year-end planning, that will be a springboard,” said Keebler. “Try to dig deep on goals and wealth-transfer objectives.”
Keebler shared a collaborative exercise for clients who are couples: The CPA financial planner can ask the duo to independently write down their top 10 financial goals. They can share their lists with each other and then work together to negotiate a shared list. This exercise not only clarifies priorities but also ensures that planning recommendations are grounded in client-defined outcomes.
“[As a CPA financial planner,] you can look at those goals and say, ‘How do we apply the income tax law and the estate tax law to achieve a better result?’”
When goals are not well defined, the clients are at a disadvantage — recommendations are incongruent and subject to changes by lawyers or other professionals. “I saw it was incredibly critical to have those goals be concrete by the time we made recommendations,” said Keebler. “If you can define the goals, the techniques speak for themselves. That’s the critical thing, to know what people really want to achieve.”
Keebler will take a deep dive into the mathematics of the estate tax during his Estate Planning Update session at the upcoming AICPA Personal Financial Planning Symposium, January 21–23, 2026, in San Diego. In addition to offering expert insights, it’s a premier networking event for CPA financial planners to refine their craft.
Listen to the full podcast episode and explore more personal financial planning resources.