Tax Shop
Tax Shop
Lone Tree, Colorado

Tax planning

At year end, don’t look back. Look forward.

Most of the year, taxes are about reporting what already happened. The weeks before December 31 are different: the retirement contribution, the gift, the sale you hold or close, the paycheck withholding you fix now, these still change the number on next spring’s return. After the ball drops, you are just doing the paperwork.

These pages are short, written for clients and visitors, and each one ends the same way: if it applies to you, we would like to talk it through. Tax planning at the Tax Shop is handled by Todd Mata, JD, LLM, CPA.

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  • October 2026

    Before December 31, 2026: Questions to Ask Yourself

    A one-page checklist. Your 401(k) and IRA, the HSA, withholding, what changed in your life this year, your investments, your giving. If two or more of the questions land, it is worth a conversation before the year closes.

    For anyone with a W-2, a pension, or a Social Security check

  • October 2026

    Year-End Tax Planning Strategies for Individuals

    The reference behind the checklist: thirty-two strategies, each with what it does, who it is for, the 2026 dollar limit where one applies, and the deadline. Retirement accounts, the HSA, withholding, Roth conversions, loss harvesting, the new charitable rules, the SALT cap, 529 plans, gifts, and the life events that change a return.

    Reference. Read the checklist first, then come here for the why

In the works

We add a planning page every week or two through the end of the year. Next up:

  • Year-end planning for business owners: entity, retirement plans, equipment, estimated payments
  • Year-end planning when your income is high: the phase-outs, the new deduction limits, charitable timing
  • Roth conversions: when the arithmetic works and when it doesn’t

Looking for the reference articles on a specific subject, Roth IRAs, 1031 exchanges, S corporations, itemized deductions? Those live under Tax Topics. This page is for the decisions you still have time to make.

Want to talk it through?

Todd Mata, JD, LLM, CPA · Tax planning at the Tax Shop

Thirty years in tax, from Fortune 500 tax departments to small business owners in Highlands Ranch, and ten years teaching corporate income taxation at Metropolitan State University of Denver. The same kind of planning the big companies get, at the Tax Shop’s prices.

303-734-1040 1040@taxshop.tax

Ask for Todd. In person in Lone Tree or by phone. More about Todd →

Todd Mata, JD, LLM, CPA