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By Mark McGregor, CRPC®, CFF®

In 2025, the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) introduced sweeping tax reform. Its significant changes impact virtually every taxpayer, and before you start (or resume) tax planning, you should take a minute to understand how it could affect you.

In this article, we take a look at some of the key tax law changes coming in 2026 and how they may impact your tax planning.

Updated Contribution Limits for Retirement Accounts

These are the updated contribution limits for retirement accounts in 2026:

• 401(k)/403(b)/457 account: $24,500 (employer plus employee total is $72,000)
• Solo 401(k): $72,000
• SIMPLE IRA: $17,000 (plus $4,000 if you’re 50 to 59 or $5,250 if you’re 60+)
• Traditional IRA: $7,500 (plus $1,100 if you’re 50+)
• SEP IRA: $72,000 or 25% of your self-employment income (whichever is greater)
• Roth IRA: $7,500 (plus $1,100 if you’re 50+)

“Catch-up” contribution limits by age (for 401(k), Solo 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans) have also been updated:

• Catch-up (Age 50 to 59): $8,000
• Super catch-up (Age 60 to 63): $11,250

It’s also important to note that starting in 2026, if you’re over 50, you make catch-up contributions to your 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) retirement plan; and you are a high earner (meaning you made more than $145,000 in W-2 wages the prior year), the following restrictions also apply:

• Catch-up contributions must be deposited into the Roth portion of your 401(k).
• If your 401(k) doesn’t have a Roth component, you may not make catch-up contributions.

Beginning in 2026, these contributions are also not tax-deductible. For many of our clients, these changes have a significant impact on their tax planning. If you think you may need to shift your tax planning strategy, get in touch with us today!

How New Regulations Impact Estate Planning Strategies

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) temporarily doubled the gift and estate tax exemption. The OBBBA made these changes permanent. For 2026, the gift and estate tax exemption is $15 million. For estates exceeding $5 million in value, the maximum estate tax is still 40%.

This permanent change leaves fewer estates subjected to estate taxes. For this reason, many of our clients are focusing on creating estate plans that lower overall tax liability, not just estate tax liability.

Opportunities to Optimize Your Tax Situation Under New Rules

Our team is ready to help you make personalized tax planning decisions. However, these are a few general suggestions for optimizing your taxes under the new rules:

• Max out your retirement contributions.
• Contribute to your health savings account (HSA) if you have one.
• If you must take required minimum distributions (RMDs), consider making a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) to lower tax liability.
• Consider “bunching” your charitable gifts if you want to maximize deductions.

When it comes to tax planning, the earlier you start, the better. We can help you craft a tax plan to make the most of your money in 2026.

Why Working With a Proactive Advisor Matters During Times of Change

Changes in tax law often mean you need to pivot in terms of tax strategy (and even in terms of your overall financial planning). But what changes should you make? Skilled, proactive advisors can offer wisdom and experience, and they can also run projections of different financial scenarios to help you make the right tax planning decisions.

Need Help With Tax Planning?

Tax planning can be an involved process even under the best of circumstances. When you introduce major tax law changes into the mix, it becomes much more challenging. That’s where we come in. McGregor Wealth Management helps clients keep tax liabilities to a minimum so they can keep more of their hard-earned assets.

If you want to learn more about how we might be able to help you, contact us online. If you’d like to get in touch, call 303.681.0113, email mark@mgswealth.com, or schedule a meeting online.

Frequently Asked Questions About Tax Planning

How will the new 2026 tax laws impact tax planning?

The 2026 tax law changes introduced under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act affect retirement contributions, catch-up contribution rules, and estate planning thresholds. These updates can change how much you can save, whether contributions are deductible, and which strategies make the most sense going forward. Reviewing these changes early allows tax planning to remain proactive rather than reactive.

What tax planning strategies should I consider under the new rules?

Effective tax planning under the new regulations may include maximizing retirement contributions, adjusting catch-up contributions to Roth accounts, using health savings accounts, and coordinating charitable strategies such as qualified charitable distributions. Because these rules affect income, deductions, and long-term planning, strategies should be tailored to your specific financial situation.

Why is it important to work with a financial advisor for tax planning in 2026?

Tax planning is more complex when laws change significantly, and mistakes can be costly. A proactive financial advisor can help analyze how new regulations affect your income, retirement savings, and estate plan while running projections to compare different strategies. At McGregor Wealth Management, clients receive guidance designed to minimize tax liability and keep more of their assets working toward long-term goals.

About Mark

You probably have people helping with your investments, legal matters, and taxes…but who makes sure you are getting all the benefits you’re owed? I do. My name is Mark McGregor. I scour federal, state, local, and corporate databases to find benefits you are owed but NOT receiving. That’s what I do. Yes, we do all the other things as well, such as providing investment management, tax planning, long-term care planning and other services. Those are the big things, but I also help to make sure the little unknown things are taken care of for you. It’s also making sure that the little things don’t become big problems for you down the road.

I got into this business to fill a void I noticed after the passing of one of my friends’ parents who was experiencing hardship due to poor planning. I saw the issues they had to deal with firsthand, and this left me feeling that there were lots of financial salespeople, but not many true advisors making sure people were getting all the available benefits they had worked so hard for. I use the skills I gained from my bachelor’s degree from California Polytechnic State University and 24 years of industry experience to get all the benefits my clients are owed. I live in Castle Rock, and we are actively involved in sports and charitable organizations, such as Unbound, which provides personal attention and direct benefits to children, youth, the aging, and their families so they may live with dignity and achieve their desired potential and participate fully in society.

Disclaimer: Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Wealth Advisors, LLC (BWA), a registered investment advisor and an affiliate of Brookstone Capital Management, LLC. BWA and McGregor Wealth Management are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BWA but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.

Mark McGregor and/or McGregor Wealth Management are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other government agency.