SAVE on Taxes in 2026

Save on Taxes in 2026

Saving on taxes isn’t just about knowing what to do — it’s also about knowing what not to do. Part of good financial planning, not just tax planning, is avoiding bad strategies that can cost you more in the long run. Rolling balances on credit cards or going to payday lenders are obvious examples, but there are also more subtle “tax-saving” ideas out there that sound good and ultimately don’t help much at all.

That’s why effective tax planning requires awareness. You need to avoid bad strategies while also knowing which good ones actually work. And when it comes to saving taxes in 2026, that knowledge needs to come early.

Why Timing Matters for Tax Planning

Many tax strategies require action before the year ends. December 31 is the real deadline for most deductions, credits, and planning opportunities — not April 15. While you can still make certain Roth IRA or HSA contributions after year-end, most tax-saving moves need to be executed well in advance.

If you wait until late in the year, you may realize there were strategies you could have used — but it’s too late. Distributions may already have been taken, assets may already have been sold, and opportunities may already be gone.

That’s why we’re talking about saving taxes in 2026 now, not next January.

Strategies That Can Help Reduce Taxes

There are many ways to reduce taxes, including:

• Roth strategies
• Tax credits and deductions
• Brokerage account strategies
• Charitable gifting
• Tax bundling
• Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)

And that’s just scratching the surface. The challenge is that there are too many strategies to cover in one video, and most of them require advance planning. Knowing what you’re eligible for at the beginning of the year is key.

How to Stay Ahead

One of the best ways to stay informed is to subscribe to this channel. Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing a lot of tax-related content so you can learn these strategies ahead of time. You can also join us live each week to ask questions and engage in real time.

Another option is to pre-order our upcoming book, which is designed to give you these strategies in advance so you can act on them when it matters most.

About the Book: Tax-Saving Strategies for Couples Over 50

The book is titled Tax-Saving Strategies: How Couples Over 50 Can Minimize Long-Term, Lifetime, and Legacy Taxes. We intentionally skipped focusing on the previous tax year and instead designed the book around long-term planning.

The book is written specifically for people over 50 approaching retirement. While it’s written from a married-couple perspective, single individuals can absolutely apply the same strategies by adjusting for their tax brackets.

This book is intentionally narrow in scope. It doesn’t cover business credits, agriculture credits, or first-time homebuyer programs. Instead, it focuses on retirement-stage tax planning — the strategies that matter most in the final working years and throughout retirement.

Roughly 80–90% of the book should apply directly to people in this stage of life, which makes it far more practical than many general tax books.

What You Get When You Pre-Order

The book will be released on March 26, 2026 and will retail for about $20 on Amazon. If you pre-order, you’ll receive:

• The book (reimbursed after purchase)
• The full audiobook version
• A bonus tax workshop
• A hardcover copy of 3D Retirement Income
• The audiobook version of 3D Retirement Income

If purchased separately, this package would cost about $150. When you pre-order, we reimburse the book cost and send you everything else for free.

Why We’re Doing This

We’re completely transparent about our goals. We want to help as many people as possible — whether or not they ever become clients. Free content allows us to help a lot of people a little, and a smaller group of people a lot.

Trust matters when it comes to retirement planning. By creating content through YouTube, podcasts, and books, you can get to know our philosophy and decide whether working together makes sense.

A very small percentage of people who watch or read this content may eventually become clients, and that makes this approach worthwhile. At the same time, we’re proud to help many others at no cost.

The Ultimate Tax Strategy Bundle

For those who want to go a step further, there’s an Ultimate Tax Strategy Bundle. This includes ordering ten copies of the book — one for yourself and nine to share.

In addition to all the bonuses listed above, you’ll also receive:

• A credit toward preparation of your 2025 tax return (base level)
• A personalized one-on-one tax planning session

This bundle provides over $1,200 in value for roughly $200. It’s designed for people who want deeper guidance and want to share helpful information with others.

Fee-Based vs. Fee-Only Financial Advisors

One of the questions we received was about the difference between fee-based and fee-only advisors.

Advisors can be paid in two main ways:

1. Commissions, where they earn money by selling financial products
2. Fees, where clients pay directly for advice or asset management

A fee-based advisor can earn both fees and commissions. A fee-only advisor earns compensation solely through fees and does not receive commissions.

The concern with commissions isn’t how the advisor gets paid — it’s what the structure incentivizes. A product that pays a 7–10% commission creates a very different incentive than one that pays an advisor 1% annually over time. Long-term advisory relationships require ongoing value, while commissions are earned once.

This is why many commission-heavy products tend to be more expensive and less efficient. More people need to be paid along the way, which increases costs and reduces value for the client.

That’s why we believe fiduciary, fee-only planning provides clearer alignment and transparency. Clients should always know what they’re paying and what they’re receiving in return.

Final Thoughts

We’ll be covering many more tax-saving strategies for 2026 over the next several weeks. If you have questions, you can leave them in the comments, submit them during live streams, or email us directly.

We look forward to seeing you next Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. Central. Until then, stay tuned — and start planning early.

This article is educational only and is not intended to be investment, legal, or tax advice or recommendations, whether direct or incidental. Again, this is not investment advice. Consult your financial, tax, and legal professionals for specific advice related to your specific situation. Never take investment advice from someone who doesn’t know you and your specific situation. All opinions expressed in this article are those of the people expressing them. Any performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be directly invested in.