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Last month, we talked about why your tax return is one of the most useful planning documents you receive all year, not a receipt for what is already done, but a starting point for what comes next.

Now it is April. The return is filed or extended. The pile on the kitchen counter has been scanned, uploaded, or filed away.

And most people move on.

But there is a window right now, a few weeks before summer schedules take over and the urgency fades, where the information on that return is still fresh and the current year is still genuinely shapeable.

This is that window.

Here are four of the most common signals I see in tax returns for households in Bryan-College Station, and what they can actually mean for your planning going forward.

Signal One: You Have Investment Income, and It May Be Costing You More Than You Think

If your return includes a Schedule B (interest and dividends) or Schedule D (capital gains), that is useful data. It tells you not just what you earned, but how you earned it, and in which accounts that activity is showing up.

A few things worth paying attention to:

Where is the income sitting? Investment income that appears on your return is taxable income, whether you spent it or not. Dividends from a taxable brokerage account, even if automatically reinvested, still generate a tax liability for the year. That is not a problem to panic over, but it is a prompt to ask whether your taxable accounts are structured in a tax-aware way.

What kind of gains are you recognizing? Short-term capital gains (assets held less than a year) are taxed as ordinary income. Long-term gains receive preferential rates. If your return shows significant short-term activity from rebalancing, sales, or account transitions, that is worth reviewing before it becomes a pattern.

Are your accounts doing coordinated work? One of the quieter advantages of working with a financial planner alongside your CPA is the ability to look at location strategy, meaning which types of investments belong in tax-deferred accounts, which belong in taxable accounts, and how those decisions interact across your whole picture, not just one account in isolation.

If your Schedule D or brokerage 1099 surprised you this year, that is a conversation worth having before year-end.

Signal Two: Retirement Contributions May Have a Gap Worth Closing

This is one of the most common, and most correctable, findings in a tax return review.

Your return will show what you contributed to retirement accounts last year. For most W-2 employees, that appears on the W-2 itself (Box 12). For self-employed individuals, it may appear on Schedule 1 as a deduction.

The planning question is straightforward: did you leave room on the table?

For 2026, the contribution limit for a 403(b) or 401(k) is $24,500. If you are 50 or older, you can add another $8,000 in catch-up contributions. If you fall between ages 60 and 63, SECURE 2.0 provides an enhanced catch-up of $11,250 instead. IRA contributions for 2026 are $7,500, with an additional $1,100 catch-up for those 50 and older. If you are wondering whether you can still make a contribution for a prior tax year, that question is covered in the companion post: Can I Still Contribute to an IRA for 2025?

One note for higher earners starting this year: if you earned more than $150,000 in FICA wages in 2025, your age-based catch-up contributions must be made as Roth contributions in 2026. MissionSquare Retirement This applies to 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans. If your plan does not yet offer a Roth option, check with your plan administrator before assuming catch-up contributions are available.

For TAMU faculty and staff specifically, there is something worth understanding that many people in this position do not fully appreciate. TAMU offers access to three retirement vehicles: TRS (or ORP for those who elected it), a supplemental 403(b), and a governmental 457(b) deferred compensation plan. The 403(b) and 457(b) are separate plans with separate contribution limits. That means a faculty member could contribute $24,500 to the 403(b) and another $24,500 to the 457(b) in the same year, for a combined $49,000 in elective deferrals before any catch-up provisions apply. That is a meaningful accumulation opportunity, and it is underutilized. This is broken down in full in the companion post: Can Educators Contribute to Both a 403(b) and a 457(b)?

The 457(b) also carries a unique feature for those approaching retirement: participants within three years of their plan’s normal retirement age may contribute up to the lesser of double the annual limit or $49,000 for 2026, by also including unused contribution room from prior years. The College Investor This special provision and the age-based catch-up cannot be used in the same year, but for someone in that window, it can represent a significant acceleration.

A few questions worth asking as you look at your return: Did you max your elective deferrals, or was that percentage set and forgotten years ago? Are you enrolled in both the 403(b) and 457(b), or only one? Are you in the 60 to 63 age range and aware of the enhanced catch-up provision that became available this year?

On Roth conversions: your return may also surface a broader question worth sitting with. If your income this year was lower than typical, or if you expect to be in a higher bracket later in retirement, a Roth conversion may be worth modeling. The idea is straightforward: paying tax now in exchange for tax-free growth later.

That trade makes the most sense when your current bracket is lower than your projected future bracket, when you have assets outside the IRA to cover the tax bill (so you are not depleting the account to pay it or accidentally triggering a withdrawal), and when you have enough time for the converted balance to compound. It is not the right move for everyone, and the math depends on your specific situation. But if your return this year showed lower income than expected, that may be exactly the kind of window worth evaluating. This is a conversation that benefits from running real numbers, not just principles.

Signal Three: Your Giving May Be Larger Than Your Deduction

This one is especially relevant for households who give regularly to their church, university, or community.

Here is the dynamic: if you gave cash last year and took the standard deduction, your generosity may not have produced any additional tax benefit. That is not a criticism. It is simply worth knowing.

The standard deduction for 2026 is $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for married filing jointly. And beginning this year, a new rule requires that your charitable contributions exceed 0.5% of your adjusted gross income before any of them become deductible as itemized deductions. This threshold is modest for most givers, but it is a new layer worth understanding as the landscape shifts.

There are strategies that can help well-intentioned givers be more tax-efficient without giving more or less.

Bunching consolidates two or three years of giving into a single tax year, pushing you above the standard deduction threshold in that year and creating a deductible benefit while maintaining your long-term giving pace.

Donor-advised funds allow you to make a large contribution in one year, receive the deduction now, and distribute the gifts over time to the organizations you care about.

Gifting appreciated securities rather than cash is one of the more underused strategies available to investors who have built up positions over time. When you donate stock that has grown in value, you avoid recognizing the capital gain while the receiving organization gets the full fair market value as the deduction basis.

The tax benefit is real, but there is a second advantage that does not get mentioned often enough: it is also a disciplined way to reduce concentration risk in your portfolio. If you are sitting on a position that has grown to represent a disproportionate share of your taxable account, whether it is company stock, a long-held single name, or a position inherited at a low cost basis, gifting it to charity or a donor-advised fund accomplishes two things at once. You reduce your exposure to a position that may carry more risk than you realize, and you do it without triggering a taxable event. That is both a planning move and a risk management move, and they rarely point in the same direction so clearly.

This strategy can also help keep your adjusted gross income lower, which matters if you are in the range where Medicare IRMAA surcharges apply. Those surcharges are determined by your income two years prior, so the effect is real and worth planning around.

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) are one of the most overlooked tools in this space, particularly for retirees. If you are 70½ or older and have a traditional IRA, you can direct up to $111,000 per person per year (in 2026) to a qualified charity directly from the account. The distribution is excluded from your taxable income entirely.

Unlike a standard charitable deduction, a QCD reduces your AGI itself rather than simply offsetting it through itemizing, and it works regardless of whether you itemize. For retirees subject to required minimum distributions, a QCD is often the more efficient giving vehicle because it satisfies part or all of the RMD while keeping that income off the return. The downstream effects on IRMAA thresholds, Social Security taxation, and marginal bracket management can be meaningful.

One important note: QCDs cannot be directed to donor-advised funds. They must go directly to a qualified operating charity.

Finally, if your charitable contributions exceeded the applicable AGI limits in a prior year, the unused portion does not disappear. The carry-forward period is five years, meaning you can apply that excess giving against future tax liability across the next five returns. If a prior year’s return shows an unused charitable carry-forward, that is an asset worth tracking intentionally.

If your return shows meaningful charitable activity but you are still landing in the standard deduction, that is a signal worth bringing into a planning conversation.

Signal Four: If You Own a Business, Mid-Year Is When the Window Opens

Small business owners tend to think about retirement plan decisions at year-end, and that makes sense because most plan establishment deadlines fall there. But the planning conversation works best when it starts now.

Here is why. A Solo 401(k), for example, must be established by December 31 of the year you want contributions to count. A SEP-IRA is more forgiving on that front, with contributions often available through the tax filing deadline, including extensions. But neither of those plans designs itself. And the decision of which structure makes the most sense for your situation depends on details that take time to work through: your business entity type, whether you have employees or expect to hire, your income trajectory for the year, and how your personal retirement picture fits alongside the business.

For 2026, the total contribution ceiling for a Solo 401(k) is $72,000, combining employee deferrals and employer profit-sharing contributions. A SEP-IRA allows contributions of up to 25% of eligible compensation, capped at the same $72,000. The right structure for your situation may not be obvious from those numbers alone.

What your tax return can tell you is what happened last year. What it cannot tell you is whether the plan design that served you then is still the right fit as your business grows, your income changes, or your timeline to retirement shortens.

The most common version of this conversation I have with business owners goes something like this: the return is filed, the number is larger than expected, and the question becomes whether anything could have been done differently. Sometimes the answer is yes, and the window is still open. Sometimes it is not. But households that start planning before summer tend to have more options than those who call in November.

If your Schedule C or K-1 showed meaningful business income this year, a mid-year check-in on plan design is a reasonable use of an hour.

None of these signals operate in isolation.

From Signal to Strategy

Reading those signals is not enough on its own. The value is in connecting them, understanding how your retirement contributions interact with your income bracket, how your investment account structure affects your charitable strategy, and how the decisions made in the next few months set the tone for how the year ends.

That work gets done between filing season and year-end, and it is almost always more productive when it starts now, while the numbers are still visible and the year still has room to move.

If something on your return caught your attention, a number that seemed higher than expected, a deduction you were not sure about, a contribution you kept meaning to increase, that is worth a conversation. Not a complicated process. Just a second set of eyes on what your return is telling you, viewed through the lens of where you are trying to go.

If that sounds useful, I would be glad to talk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I look at on my tax return for planning purposes?

Four signals are worth reading. A Schedule B or D shows how your investment income is taxed and where it sits. Your W-2 (Box 12) or Schedule 1 shows whether you left retirement contribution room unused. Your charitable giving may be larger than the deduction you actually captured. And a Schedule C or K-1 is a prompt for a mid-year business retirement plan review.

Can TAMU faculty and staff contribute to both a 403(b) and a 457(b)?

Yes. The 403(b) and governmental 457(b) are separate plans with separate contribution limits, so a faculty member could contribute $24,500 to each in 2026, for a combined $49,000 in elective deferrals before any catch-up provisions apply. Many people with access to both use only one. For the full breakdown, see: Can Educators Contribute to Both a 403(b) and a 457(b)?

What is a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)?

If you are 70½ or older with a traditional IRA, a QCD lets you direct up to $111,000 per person per year (in 2026) to a qualified charity directly from the account, excluded from your taxable income. It reduces your AGI, can satisfy part or all of a required minimum distribution, and works whether or not you itemize. QCDs cannot be directed to donor-advised funds.

When does a Roth conversion make sense?

A Roth conversion tends to make the most sense when your current tax bracket is lower than your expected future bracket, when you have assets outside the IRA to cover the tax bill, and when you have enough time for the converted balance to compound. A year with lower-than-usual income can be a good window. The math depends on your situation and benefits from running real numbers.

Should a small business owner use a Solo 401(k) or a SEP-IRA?

It depends on your entity type, whether you have or expect employees, and your income. A Solo 401(k) must be established by December 31 of the contribution year, while a SEP-IRA can often be funded through the tax filing deadline, including extensions. For 2026, both cap at $72,000. Starting the conversation mid-year usually leaves more options open.

Disclosure

Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor, member FINRA/SIPC.

This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. There is no assurance that the views or strategies discussed are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes. This information is not intended to be a substitute for individualized tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor regarding your specific situation. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

The examples above are intended to illustrate common planning considerations and may not apply to every situation.