BDO's 2026 Year-End Tax Planning Guide for Businesses
Explore key tax developments and planning considerations shaping year-end decisions.
Navigate Change. Evaluate Opportunities.
Plan for What's Next.
With returns complete, businesses can shift from reacting to compliance demands to proactively shaping their total tax strategy for the year ahead. Organizations that plan ahead are better positioned to capture opportunities, reduce risk, and strengthen business decisions in the year ahead.
BDO's 2026 Year-End Tax Planning Guide provides practical insights and actionable planning strategies to help businesses navigate federal, state, and international tax developments that may affect investments, transactions, tax credits and incentives, compliance, and strategic business decisions.
Download the guide to explore tax strategies to help businesses:
Drive tax savings and improve cash flow
Prepare for evolving tax and trade rules
Enhance transaction and investment outcomes
Reduce compliance risk and uncover refunds
Modernize the tax function for the future
Tax Strategist Webcast: Year-End Tax Planning
Join us on December 3 to hear insights on accounting methods planning, tax-saving opportunities, recent partnership tax developments, and the growing impact of AI on research credit claims.
Stay informed with additional tax resources
Access year-end tax developments, planning considerations, and practical guidance through these related resources.
Tax Strategist Webcast: Post-Election Washington Tax Outlook
Join BDO professionals for a look at the post-election tax landscape and the potential implications for businesses. Register to hear what may be ahead and key considerations as you plan for the future.
Tax Strategist Cross-Border Webcast: End-of-Year Planning for Multinational Organizations
What should multinational organizations be considering as they close out 2026 and prepare for 2027? Register for this webcast to hear BDO professionals discuss key international tax developments, planning opportunities and compliance considerations.
Tax Innovation Webcast: Level Up Your Excel Workpapers with Tax Agents, Microsoft Fabric and Power Suite
Take your Excel tax workpapers to the next level. Register to learn how Tax Agents, Tax Data Foundation and Microsoft Power Platform can support more modern, technology-enabled tax processes.
BDO Talks Total Tax Podcast
Stay ahead of the tax issues shaping today’s business landscape with BDO Talks Total Tax Podcast. Hear timely perspectives on emerging tax developments, market trends and operational challenges to help you make informed decisions and prepare for what’s next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Year-end tax planning can help organizations identify tax-saving opportunities, avoid unintended tax consequences, and prepare for legislative and regulatory changes. Planning early can support cash flow, reduce uncertainty, and align tax considerations with broader business objectives heading into 2027.
Businesses should begin reviewing year-end tax planning considerations once the current year's return cycle is complete and attention can shift from compliance activities to planning for the year ahead. Year-end provides an opportunity to assess recent tax developments, revisit existing tax positions, and evaluate planning opportunities that may affect future investments, transactions, operations, and other business decisions.
Businesses may want to review recent tax returns, financial statements, forecasts, and significant changes in operations, ownership, investments, transactions, workforce, and geographic footprint, along with upcoming business decisions that could have tax implications. Information related to significant tax positions, capital plans, and other strategic initiatives may also help inform year-end planning discussions and future tax strategy.
Organizations may benefit from evaluating opportunities to leverage tax credits, model cost recovery options, review accounting methods, plan for transactions, mitigate tariffs, and pursue state and local tax refunds. Beginning the review early can help businesses identify actions that may need to be taken before year end.
The guide explores key federal, state, and international tax developments, along with practical insights and actionable planning strategies for income taxes, partnerships, tax credits and incentives, mergers and acquisitions, compensation and benefits, customs and trade, and tax function transformation. Together, these topics can help organizations evaluate near-term actions and longer-term tax priorities.
Schedule a Tax Planning Session
Tax developments, planning considerations, and emerging issues can affect organizations differently. Connect with a BDO tax advisor to discuss tax considerations relevant to your business and industry.