Wealthyist E78 | 2026 Year-End Tax Planning: The Sunset That Never Came

This week on Wealthyist, Kent Haleen sits down with Jenny Jesse, manager of Annex’s financial planning team and lead author of the firm’s year-end guide, Turning the Page on 2026.

Jenny traces her path from intern to planning lead and gets to the point: OBBBA locked in the TCJA rates, so high-net-worth families are no longer planning against a sunset. The work this year is using the code that is actually in place.

The moves she sees most: Roth conversions while the 12%, 22%, and 24% brackets are still historically cheap, and using the higher SALT cap—income tax, property tax, and, in no-income-tax states, sales tax. Arizona has adopted pieces of the federal bill; Florida has not, so the federal picture is the same but the state overlay is not.

They unpack the surprise Roth catch-up: if you are 50+ and had 2025 W-2 box 3 wages over $150,000, 2026 catch-ups to a 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) must go Roth. Congress wanted revenue now.

On kids’ money: Section 530A “Trump” accounts are real, but nobody is opening one for you—ignore the spam, use the official app or IRS Form 4547. Kids born 2025–2028 may get a $1,000 federal seed. Pair that with leftover 529 dollars, which can move to a Roth only over time, with earned income, and with a $35,000 lifetime cap—not as a lump sum.

Estate planning got quieter and more personal. The federal exemption is $15 million per person / $30 million joint, so fewer families face a 40% federal estate tax. Annual $19,000 gifts still matter if the estate will clear that bar, and for “living legacy”—grandparents who would rather watch the money get used than leave a pile later. Gifts above $19,000 are generally not taxed when given; they use lifetime exemption and get reported on a gift-tax return. State rules still bite: Illinois is the nearby example with a much lower threshold.

Charitable giving is the other lever. New for 2026: up to $1,000 / $2,000 of cash charity for people who take the standard deduction, and a 0.5% of AGI floor if you itemize. Donor-advised funds still work for appreciated stock and bunching. Once RMDs start (73 or 75, depending on birth year), QCDs—up to $111,000 per person from an IRA at 70½+—can satisfy the RMD, stay off the return, and help with IRMAA, Social Security taxation, and the new senior deduction.

Jenny’s words to think on: do not optimize only 2026. Annex builds a pro forma return, then ties tax, investments, estate, and the financial plan across decades. Minimize tax for the family line, not jus