Year-round tax planning may help clients capture new tax savings opportunities.

It’s tax season, which for most people is the only time they think about tax planning. But the best time to put effective tax-planning strategies in place is before April 15th. In fact, tax planning should be a year-round discussion for financial professionals and their clients.

Tax planning should be a focus for client conversations in 2026 due to new tax-savings provisions in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act and potential future tax increases as fiscal pressures grow.

A new Advisor Authority study, powered by the Nationwide Retirement Institute, uncovered opportunities for financial professionals to extend tax-planning discussions beyond April to help clients mitigate their tax burdens at a critical time—during retirement.

Despite fears of higher taxes, few investors are preparing for them.

For retirees, higher taxes can have implications for planning where and when to take retirement account withdrawals.

Chart of people indicating four in five.

Four in five investors expect their taxes to go up in retirement.

Just 31% of those who expect taxes to rise say they are proactively adjusting their financial plan accordingly.

Man and woman sitting on a couch and looking over documents.

Many people—including financial professionals—don’t think of tax planning as a year-round need.

Filing season shouldn’t be the only time clients think about taxes, but that’s what most investors do. Make taxes a year-round focus with your clients to put effective strategies in place for their financial plans.

37%

of investors say their financial professional proactively discusses tax planning strategies or policy changes more than once a year, as part of regular review meetings.

Guaranteed income solutions can be a key component in tax planning.

Investors and financial professionals show interest in guaranteed income solutions to help manage how and when to pay taxes on withdrawals.

Given the events of the last 12 months, how likely are you to put part of your (or your clients’) portfolios into an annuity or other guaranteed income solution?

Chart that shows 49% of investors and 60% of Financial Professionals (would recommend)

Expand your tax planning discussion with clients beyond April.

Now that the tax-saving provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are in place, year-round tax planning presents valuable opportunities to spotlight the guidance you deliver for clients. With strategies that diversify a client’s tax burden and solutions that offer guaranteed income, you can help clients increase their after-tax income and the longevity of their savings throughout retirement.

Nationwide offers step-by-step guidance on tax planning for financial professionals like you to strengthen the value you deliver to clients.

Learn how Nationwide can support your tax-planning discussions.

Methodology

The Harris Poll, on behalf of Nationwide, conducted an online survey in the U.S. among 528 advisors and financial professionals and 2,012 investors ages 18+ with investable assets (IA) of $10K+, January 15-February 6, 2026

Disclosure

For financial professional use only.

This material is not a recommendation to buy or sell a financial product or to adopt an investment strategy. Investors should discuss their specific situation with their financial professional.