{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Wealthyist","title":"Wealthyist E78 | 2026 Year-End Tax Planning: The Sunset That Never Came","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1101,"description":"This week on Wealthyist, Kent Haleen sits down with Jenny Jesse, manager of Annex’s financial planning team and lead author of the firm’s year-end guide, Turning the Page on 2026.\nJenny traces her path from intern to planning lead and gets to the point: OBBBA locked in the TCJA rates, so high-net-worth families are no longer planning against a sunset. The work this year is using the code that is actually in place.\nThe moves she sees most: Roth conversions while the 12%, 22%, and 24% brackets are still historically cheap, and using the higher SALT cap—income tax, property tax, and, in no-income-tax states, sales tax. Arizona has adopted pieces of the federal bill; Florida has not, so the federal picture is the same but the state overlay is not.\nThey unpack the surprise Roth catch-up: if you are 50+ and had 2025 W-2 box 3 wages over $150,000, 2026 catch-ups to a 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) must go Roth. Congress wanted revenue now.\nOn kids’ money: Section 530A “Trump” accounts are real, but nobody is opening one for you—ignore the spam, use the official app or IRS Form 4547. Kids born 2025–2028 may get a $1,000 federal seed. Pair that with leftover 529 dollars, which can move to a Roth only over time, with earned income, and with a $35,000 lifetime cap—not as a lump sum.\nEstate planning got quieter and more personal. The federal exemption is $15 million per person / $30 million joint, so fewer families face a 40% federal estate tax. Annual $19,000 gifts still matter if the estate will clear that bar, and for “living legacy”—grandparents who would rather watch the money get used than leave a pile later. Gifts above $19,000 are generally not taxed when given; they use lifetime exemption and get reported on a gift-tax return. State rules still bite: Illinois is the nearby example with a much lower threshold.\nCharitable giving is the other lever. New for 2026: up to $1,000 / $2,000 of cash charity for people who take the standard deduction, and a 0.5% of AGI floor if you...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/qGrVF3x5hFIhTcfRmZqwI5cWDYeStA3lwZ1z54k8q18/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS83MWRm/YWQ1NmRjOWIwNmNm/MjExZmE3MjViNTU0/Njk5NC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}