Tax-law changes rarely affect only one part of a financial plan. A new deduction can influence taxable income, charitable giving, investment decisions, business planning, and the transfer of wealth to future generations.
With several provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act now in effect, mid-year is an important time for high-net-worth families to confirm that their tax, investment, and estate strategies are still working together—not simply remaining compliant.
Expert Take: The higher SALT cap, new senior deduction, permanent Qualified Business Income deduction, charitable AGI floor, and higher estate exemption create new planning considerations for 2026. A coordinated mid-year review may help families evaluate potential opportunities while there is still time to act.
What Are the Most Important OBBBA Tax Changes for 2026?
The OBBBA introduced or extended several provisions that may affect high-net-worth taxpayers, retirees, and business owners.
How Has the SALT Deduction Changed?
The cap on the state and local tax deduction has temporarily increased, although the available deduction phases down for certain higher-income taxpayers.
Families in high-tax states should determine whether the increased cap provides a meaningful benefit based on their income, filing status, and overall deduction strategy.
Who May Qualify for the New Senior Deduction?
Taxpayers age 65 and older may qualify for an additional deduction, subject to income-based phaseouts.
Anyone who turned—or will turn—65 during 2026 should review whether they qualify and how it might impact estimated taxes and other year-end planning decisions.
What Changed for the Qualified Business Income Deduction?
The 20% Qualified Business Income deduction is now permanent for eligible pass-through business owners, removing what had been a scheduled expiration.
Although the deduction is no longer temporary, eligibility can still depend on taxable income, business type, ownership structure, wages, and other limitations. Business owners should revisit their eligibility rather than assuming prior-year treatment will automatically continue.
How Does the New Charitable AGI Floor Work?
A new 0.5% adjusted gross income floor applies to itemized charitable deductions.
For charitably inclined families, this may affect whether it is more effective to make donations annually or combine multiple years of giving into a single “bunching” year.
What Does the Higher Estate and Gift Tax Exemption Mean?
The higher, inflation-indexed estate and gift tax exemption has been made permanent.
That does not eliminate the need for estate planning. Families should continue reviewing lifetime gifting, trust structures, asset ownership, beneficiary designations, and long-term wealth-transfer goals.
Why Is Mid-Year an Important Time for Tax Planning?
Many valuable planning strategies are easier to execute with five or six months remaining than with only a few weeks before year-end.
By mid-year, income, business performance, realized gains, and other financial developments are generally clear enough to create useful projections. There is also still time to coordinate decisions among financial advisors, CPAs, and estate attorneys.
A mid-year review may identify opportunities involving:
- Roth conversions
- Tax-loss and tax-gain harvesting
- Charitable-giving strategies
- Estimated-tax adjustments
- Concentrated-stock diversification
- Business-structure planning
- Lifetime gifting
The families that often receive the greatest value from planning are those that act before a forcing event, such as a liquidity event, health change, market disruption, or year-end deadline.
What Should a 2026 Mid-Year Financial Review Include?
An effective review should evaluate taxes, investments, estate planning, and charitable giving as parts of one coordinated strategy.
Which Tax Strategies Should Be Reviewed?
Tax-planning considerations may include:
- Determining whether the SALT deduction phaseout affects the current filing year
- Revisiting QBI eligibility for pass-through business interests
- Confirming eligibility for the new senior deduction
- Updating income projections and estimated-tax payments
- Evaluating whether a Roth conversion aligns with the broader financial plan
Which Investment Decisions Should Be Revisited?
Investment-planning considerations may include:
- Reviewing tax-loss and tax-gain harvesting opportunities
- Reassessing concentrated stock positions
- Comparing direct sales, exchange funds, and structured diversification plans
- Confirming that asset location remains tax-efficient
- Coordinating investment decisions with Roth conversion or retirement contribution activity
Falcon Wealth Planning approaches portfolio construction through low-cost, evidence-based investing, with investment decisions evaluated alongside the client’s tax situation, liquidity needs, and long-term goals.
Which Estate and Charitable Strategies Should Be Reviewed?
Estate and giving considerations may include:
- Revisiting lifetime gifting plans
- Reviewing existing trusts and beneficiary designations
- Evaluating the current estate and gift tax exemption
- Determining whether 2026 should be a charitable bunching year
- Coordinating charitable gifts with income and estate-planning objectives
Do High-Net-Worth Families Need a Traditional Family Office?
A standalone family office can involve significant cost and administrative complexity. However, many families with approximately $10 million to $30 million increasingly want the same level of coordination without establishing a separate organization.
The primary issue is not how many professionals are involved. It is whether those professionals are working from the same plan.
When tax, investment, estate, and charitable decisions are handled separately, one recommendation can unintentionally interfere with another. Family Office-style integration helps identify these connections before decisions are implemented.
How Does Falcon Wealth Planning Coordinate These Strategies?
Tax, investment, estate, and charitable decisions rarely operate independently.
A retirement contribution decision may affect taxable income. That income picture may influence charitable planning and estimated taxes. Those decisions may then affect gifting and estate-planning strategies.
Falcon Wealth Planning’s Fee-Only fiduciary model is designed to review these areas together. Our CFP® professionals and CPAs provide comprehensive tax planning, estate coordination, and evidence-based investment management through one coordinated financial plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need to Change My Financial Plan Because of OBBBA?
Possibly. The SALT cap, senior deduction, permanent QBI deduction, charitable AGI floor, and estate exemption are all new or updated inputs worth reviewing. A review does not necessarily mean your strategy must change—it determines whether the current strategy still makes sense.
Is Mid-Year Too Early for Year-End Tax Planning?
No. Mid-year is often an ideal planning window because the year’s income picture is becoming clearer while there is still enough time to implement appropriate strategies.
What If My CPA and Financial Advisor Work at Different Firms?
Coordination remains essential. A Family Office-style model helps reduce the coordination gap by allowing tax and financial-planning professionals to evaluate decisions under one roof.
Do I Need a Full Review or a Brief Check-In?
A comprehensive review may be appropriate following a significant income change, new business interest, major gift, concentrated-stock event, liquidity event, or milestone such as turning 65. Otherwise, a shorter check-in may be sufficient.
Schedule a Coordinated Mid-Year Review
A mid-year review may help evaluate whether your 2026 tax, investment, estate, and charitable strategies remain aligned.
Schedule a No-Cost Financial Assessment with Falcon Wealth Planning’s CFP® and CPA team for a coordinated review of your financial plan.
Schedule Your No-Cost Financial Assessment
This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized tax, legal, or investment advice. Provisions described are based on currently available guidance and are subject to change. Consult your CPA or tax attorney regarding your specific situation. Falcon Wealth Planning, LLC is a Fee-Only fiduciary Registered Investment Adviser based in Ontario, California.
