Hey, Michael here. Wondering where the year has gone?
It’s hard to believe that Tuesday is September 1. That means four months left to meet (or exceed!) the goals you set for yourself this year.
Four months. About 17 weeks.
It sounds like plenty, but we all know how this goes. December moves at double speed, calendars fill up, holiday parties start, kids come home, clients disappear, and suddenly we are saying:
“I’ll take care of that next year.”
So before that happens: make a list.
Not a New Year’s resolution list. A “Before December” list.
What are the things you said you were going to get done this year? The things you’ve been meaning to do? The financial decision sitting on your desk. The estate documents still unsigned. The conversation you’ve been postponing. The trip you keep talking about. The retirement plan you said you’d finally look at.
You know the things. Write them down so they’re out of your head and in front of you.
But you don’t want 37 things on the list. That’s not going to move a plan forward, that’s a new way to procrastinate.
Start With September 15
As you’re making your full list, there’s one item that already has a clear and upcoming deadline: your Q3 estimated tax payment, due September 15.
But before you grab the estimated tax voucher and automatically send the amount printed on it, stop. Take a pause.
Does that number still make sense?
That estimate was created in January, based on what we knew then. Now there are an additional 8 months of data. A lot can change in that time: a better year than expected, or a harder one. A sale, a distribution, a bonus, a change in your retirement contributions. Eight months of actual data is sitting in front of you, and your January estimate doesn’t know about any of it.
So the question to ask yourself isn’t just, “Am I being compliant with the IRS with my payment?”
Sure, those calculated payments helps you avoid penalties. But if you have a banner year, you’ll still owe big in April. And if the year hasn’t been as good, you could end up giving the IRS an interest-free loan (and hurting your cashflow in the meantime).
The question we want you to ask goes deeper:“What am I actually going to owe?”
Safe harbor and your actual tax liability are two different things. Only one of them keeps you from getting a surprise in April.
So what do you do?
Look at what’s actually happened so far and do a quick projection through December. If you have clean, up-to-date books, it’s a relatively quick process. Even then, it won’t be perfect, but that’s ok.
A reasonable projection today is far more useful than a perfect calculation next April.
(We covered how to calculate estimated payments earlier this year, including the safe harbor rules and how to think about timing. Need the nitty gritty? Check out: “Estimated Taxes are a Cash Flow Problem.”)
Your September 15 payment should reflect where you’ll end up this year, not where you started.
Now: The Rest of the List
The Q3 estimated tax payment is an item with a clear, built-in deadline. The rest of your “Before December” list may not have one. Which is exactly why you keep pushing those items down the road.
What else you do you want to avoid carrying into 2027?
Maybe it’s the retirement plan that hasn’t been touched in two years. The estate documents still sitting in draft. The succession conversation nobody’s started. The old 401(k) parked somewhere and slowly becoming irrelevant.
Or maybe it has nothing to do with money. Taking a trip. Calling an old friend. Learning something new.
So look critically at your “full “Before December” list. Now ask yourself: “If December 31 arrived and I could point to five things I actually finished, which five would make me feel like I used this year well?”
Circle those five.
Then flesh out the details. What gets done in September? What gets done before Thanksgiving? What is absolutely finished before December 31? Put a real date next to each one.
And just so we’re on the same page, “Q4,” “later,” and “someday” are not dates.
You have four months, which is enough time to accomplish a lot. But only if you make it concrete and stop thinking it’ll happen “someday.”
If you’re a current client, you already know what to do: reach out next week, giving us time to work through the calculations before September 15, and let’s make sure your payment is actually right.
If you’re reading this and thinking “nobody is having this conversation with me,” it might be time for a change. Knowing what you’re going to owe before you owe it isn’t a luxury add-on. It’s just what a real planning relationship looks like.
Plan First. Stay Calm.
And get some things done.
