The Deductibles // December 2025

⚠️ Upcoming Deadlines to Know

📆 December 31, 2025 — Deadline to:

• Take required minimum distributions if you are 73 or older to avoid penalties

• Lock in 2025 charitable contributions if you want the deduction this year

• Harvest investment gains or losses for 2025 to manage your capital gains bill

• For many cash-basis businesses, decide whether to accelerate expenses or defer income into 2026

📆 January 15, 2026
Q4 2025 estimated tax payment due. This is already factored into your Gelt plan, but it is a good moment to confirm amounts, especially if your income changed in Q4.

📆 January 31, 2026
W-2s and most 1099-NECs due to employees and contractors. Make sure your books, vendor information, and payroll reports are clean so we can file smoothly.

To learn more, visit joingelt.com and schedule a call with a tax expert today.

🧮 New: tax calculators for smarter year-end decisions

Most tax calculators assume a simple W-2 situation. These don’t.

We just launched Gelt’s Tax Calculator Hub, a self-serve suite that gives you clear, dollar-based estimates for advanced strategies business owners actually use. The goal is simple: “is this worth it?” clarity in minutes, so you can pressure-test ideas before you spend time, money, or mental energy chasing them.

The hub launches with two tools:

• S corp strategy calculator: estimates whether an S corp election could reduce self-employment taxes based on your inputs.

• PTET calculator: estimates whether a pass-through entity tax election could turn state taxes into a federal deduction (where applicable).

How to use these calculators

• Run quick “what if” scenarios to explore strategy tradeoffs.

• Use the results to start a sharper conversation with your Gelt tax team.

• Share with a friend who keeps asking, “should I go S corp?” so they can see the numbers instead of guessing.

👉 Try the calculators here

Reminder: results are illustrative estimates, not tax advice. Final outcomes depend on your full tax situation.

✅ End-of-year tax moves, review before December 31

Q4 is the best time to act because you finally have real visibility into your 2025 numbers. Here are five moves to pressure-test with your Gelt team:

• Heavy vehicle or equipment purchases (placed in service before year-end)

• Prepaying certain expenses you’ll definitely incur next year (timing strategy)

• Home office vs. the Augusta rule (documentation matters)

• S corp election modeling based on near-final profit, not guesses

• Using losses intentionally (tax-loss harvesting and other loss treatment)

Want the deeper breakdown and tradeoffs? Read our full blog here

If any of these sound relevant, visit joingelt.com or schedule a call with our team about how you can get started.

🎥 Estimates in the platform: use your projected return to keep payments accurate

Estimated payments work best when they reflect your real year, not last year’s assumptions. If your income moved in Q4, or you’re trying to avoid a surprise in January, this workflow helps you sanity-check your numbers fast.

Analyze a projected return (in a few minutes)

• Go to your primary projection in the platform and select the correct tax year.

• Upload your projected return and run the analysis.

• You can leave the screen once it starts. We’ll notify you when it’s done.

• Then head to the estimates section to review what was pulled in and what it means for your payments.

Why this matters

• Better inputs lead to more accurate estimates and fewer year-end surprises.

• It also helps your Gelt team move faster when you want to adjust anything before deadlines.

👉 Watch the estimates walkthrough ▶ (video link)

Questions? Visit joingelt.com or schedule a call with our team about how you can get started.

🎧 Quick question: what podcasts do you listen to?

We’re always trying to meet more people and add them to the Gelt community, in the places you already spend time. If you have a few go-to podcasts (or newsletters) you trust for business, money, startups, or investing, we’d love to know which ones.

Fill this form out with 2–3 favorites, or forward us a short list at [email protected].

A few categories we’re especially curious about:

• Founder and operator podcasts

• Finance and investing

• Real estate and private wealth

• Healthcare practice ownership

• Accounting and tax (the good kind)

📰 Gelt in the news

• Business Wire
  Gelt announced the launch of our new Tax Calculator Hub, built to turn complex strategies into fast, dollar-based estimates. It’s designed to help owners answer “is this worth it?” before filing season, starting with S corp and PTET modeling.
  👉 Read: Gelt Launches AI-Powered Tax Calculator Hub to Quantify the Value of Advanced Tax Strategies Ahead of 2026 Tax Season 

• Entrepreneur
  Tal breaks down the simplest year-end truth for high earners: April is for reporting, but Q4 is when decisions still change what you owe. The piece covers why December 31 drives the real planning window, and which moves are hardest to “fix later.”
  👉 Read: I Work With High-Earning Entrepreneurs — This Year-End Practice Prevents Money Issues 

• Yahoo Finance
  Yahoo Finance featured Rachel Richards, CPA, on what to do after inheriting an IRA, including how large withdrawals can spike taxes and even raise Medicare premiums. A good reminder that timing and sequencing matter as much as the headline rule.
  👉 Read: Inherited an IRA? 5 steps to take now. 

If you have friends or colleagues who could benefit from a more strategic approach to taxes, these are great links to share.

Is Gelt a Fit for You Now?

Tax Season is upon us! As a reminder - We work with founders, investors, and business owners who are ready to go beyond basic tax prep. If you want to:

✔️ Keep more of what you earn
✔️ Plan with intention, not just react at tax time
✔️ Partner with a team that understands your goals

We’d love to help you take the next step. Schedule a call to learn more