Is it time to plan your 2026 tax return?
Posted on July 31, 2026

Yep. It’s time to fill out a draft of your 2026 tax return. I’ve cranked mine out no later than this time every year. I enclose a spreadsheet for a single filer here and for married, joint filers here.

== Three reasons ==

I fill this out early since, in most years, I can engineer our QCD, sales of securities from our taxable brokerage account, and sales of securities from my Roth to get the cash we want for spending and avoid taxes that we then will never have to pay. I can lower our taxable income by at least $20,000 for the same or similar amount of sales of securities for our spending: I might avoid more than $8,000 in tax and surcharges by doing that: 40% benefit for my efforts.

I’ll update this in late November and use my calculation of total taxes to withhold the right amount when I take our RMDs in December.

I’ll also use that calculation as check when I use TurboTax to complete my 2026 return. When I work on TurboTax, that’s the only measure I have to be sure I’ve completed everything accurately. It isn’t letting me see my complete tax return until after I pay.

== Three differences ==

1. If you are subject to RMD, you have a real increase this year because you had very good returns in 2025 and your RMD percentage increased. Even though the tripwires that trigger IRMAA adjust for inflation, that real increase pushes you closer to the nearest one you’d like to avoid. (My estimates on the IRMAA tripwires are conservative; I’ve assumed very little for the inflation adjustment; I’ll have a better handle after the adjustment announced in November.)

2. You are pushed even closer to the trigger point for Net Investment Income Tax, a 3.8% tax surcharge on a portion of investment income. That trip point does not adjust for inflation. It’s relatively closer for married, joint filers than it is for single filers.

3. We get an added deduction for donations other than QCD. That’s up to $1,000 for single filer and up to $2,000 for married, joint filers.

Conclusion: I enclose two spreadsheets that should give you a close result to your 2026 tax return. I complete it now to help me plan how I might avoid a trigger point of higher taxes. I’ll update to make sure I withhold the right amount of taxes when I take our RMDs the first week in December. I’ll use it again when I start to complete my tax return with TurboTax next February.

If you are subject to RMD, it’s more in real terms than last year. You are pushed toward the nearest IRMAA tripwire; you are pushed even further toward the trigger point for NIIT, because it does not adjust for inflation.

You have a new deduction available. You can donate in addition to donating with QCD.