Written by Alex Seleznev, MBA, CFP®, CFA and Alyssa Neece | Jan 7, 2026
It’s a brand-new year and there are multiple things you can do to start it on the right foot.
To keep your finances on track, it’s important to understand the key changes in 2026.
As some of you know, the latest IRS adjustments and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) provisions give us several new key figures to keep in mind as we look at our clients’ financial plans.
In this newsletter, I’m going to do my best to distill the main points you need to know for different aspects of your plan.
Let’s jump right in!
Retirement
The IRS regularly adjusts the contribution limits for retirement accounts to keep pace with inflation.
The biggest change to retirement accounts and contributions is the new Roth mandate for catch-up contributions in employer-sponsored plans.
401(k), 403(b), 457 plans
Employee deferral limit: $24,500
Catch-up (ages 50+): $8,000 (must be Roth if 2025 wages were over $150,000)
Super catch-up (ages 60–63): $11,250 (higher limit available for this age group)
Total qualified plan limit (employee + employer): $72,000
Individual retirement accounts (IRA)
Traditional and Roth IRA: $7,500 (aggregated)
Traditional and Roth IRA catch-up (50+): $1,100
SEP IRA (all sources): $72,000 (limited to 25% of net earned income)
SIMPLE IRA: $17,000
SIMPLE IRA catch-up (50+): $4,000
SIMPLE IRA super catch-up (60–63): $5,250
To be clear, the new catch-up contribution rules that impact your 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans do not impact your IRA contributions.
Taxes
Along with the typical increases in the standard deduction, there is now an additional senior bonus deduction.
Standard deductions
Single: $16,100
Joint: $32,200
Head of household: $24,150
Senior bonus: $6,000 per person age 65+ (temporary provision for 2025-2028, available in addition to regular standard deduction, phases out completely for incomes over $175,000 for single filers and $250,000 for joint filers).
The SALT (state and local tax) deduction cap has been increased to $20,200 for single filers and $40,400 for joint filers.
This benefit phases out for those with modified adjusted gross income over $505,000, with a minimum deduction floor of $10,000.
Auto loan interest is now deductible up to $10,000 for cars bought after 2024, subject to income limits.
The Social Security wage base is now increased to $184,500, meaning this is the maximum income amount subject to the 6.2% Social Security tax.
The top tax bracket (37%) now starts at $640,600 (single) and $768,700 (joint).
And a big break for families is the permanent increase of $2,200 per qualifying child for the child tax credit which is refundable up to $1,700 for many taxpayers.
Healthcare
Bronze and catastrophic plans are now Health Savings Account (HSA)-eligible.
This can be a big upgrade for many, as it allows you to open and contribute to this helpful account type.
To be clear, this change applies specifically to Marketplace/ACA exchange plans purchased on an exchange.
Speaking of contributions, here are the new 2026 limits for your healthcare accounts.
HSA (self): $4,400
HSA (family): $8,750
Health FSA: $3,400 (carryover limit increased to $680)
Dependent care FSA: $7,500 (now a permanent limit)
Family & Estate Planning
The OBBBA provisions bring some big changes and implications for estate planning.
This is most notable because of the permanent estate lifetime exemption of $15M ($30M for couples).
The new permanency of this limit will allow for a little more peace of mind for those looking to do legacy planning.
The annual gift exclusion remains the same as last year at $19,000 that you can give to anyone tax-free ($38,000 if you and your spouse file jointly and use gift splitting).
Trump accounts, available starting July 4, 2026, will have a $5,000 limit in 2026, with a $1,000 government seed for newborns between 2025 and 2028.
If you are not familiar, these are newly created tax-advantaged accounts intended for long-term savings starting at birth.
What does this mean for you?
The main action item for most people right now is to adjust your contribution amounts to the new limits, including any auto-deposit settings for your retirement and HSA plans.
Additionally, for those of you affected by the new Roth catch-up contribution requirement, please reach out to your employer ASAP to make sure your plan has that as an option.
Also, as a planning “pro tip,” if you are in a position to make your retirement or other contributions at the beginning of the year, consider doing so.
This gives you the advantage of your funds working from the very beginning of the year.