It is March 11th. Tax Day — April 15th, 2026 — is exactly five weeks from today. If you have not filed yet, you are not alone. According to the IRS, roughly 40% of individual tax returns are filed in the final three weeks before the deadline. We are procrastinators. All of us. It is fine.
What is not fine is leaving money on the table because you rushed through your return at 11 PM on April 14th with a cold pizza and a spreadsheet that may or may not be accurate. I did that in 2022. I missed a $1,400 education credit. Fourteen hundred dollars, gone, because I was too busy watching playoff basketball to double-check my forms.
So here are nine moves you can still make right now — yes, even this late — that could reduce your tax bill or increase your refund. Some of these have deadlines before April 15th, so do not sit on this.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. Tax situations vary significantly by individual. Consult a qualified tax professional or CPA for advice specific to your situation. The IRS (irs.gov) is the authoritative source for all federal tax guidance.
1. Max Out Your IRA Contribution (Deadline: April 15)
This is the single most impactful move on this list for most people. You can still contribute to a Traditional IRA for the 2025 tax year until April 15, 2026. The contribution limit is $7,000 ($8,000 if you are 50 or older).
If you contribute to a Traditional IRA and you qualify for the deduction (income limits apply — check IRS Publication 590-A), that contribution directly reduces your taxable income.
Quick math: if you are in the 22% tax bracket and contribute $7,000, that is $1,540 less in federal taxes. Not a small number.
My accountant Karen — who has been doing my taxes since I accidentally categorized a gym membership as a "business wellness expense" — says this is the first thing she checks with every last-minute filer. "Most people leave this on the table," she told me last week. "They think the deadline for IRA contributions is December 31st. It is not."
2. Contribute to an HSA If You Have an Eligible Plan
If you had a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) in 2025, you can contribute to a Health Savings Account until April 15, 2026 for the 2025 tax year. The limits were $4,300 for individual coverage and $8,550 for family coverage in 2025.
HSAs are arguably the most tax-advantaged account in existence. Contributions are tax-deductible, growth is tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free. That is a triple tax benefit. Nothing else in the tax code offers that.
According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), the average HSA balance at the end of 2024 was $4,802, but only 13% of HSA holders maxed out their contributions. That is a lot of unclaimed tax deductions.
3. Do Not Forget the Saver's Credit
If your adjusted gross income (AGI) is below $38,250 (single) or $76,500 (married filing jointly) for 2025, you may qualify for the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit — commonly called the Saver's Credit.
This is not a deduction. It is a credit. Credits reduce your tax bill dollar-for-dollar, which makes them significantly more valuable than deductions. The credit ranges from 10% to 50% of your retirement contributions, up to $2,000 per person.
I talked to a financial planner named Marcus who told me that fewer than 25% of eligible taxpayers actually claim this credit. "It is free money that people just... do not take," he said, with the kind of pained expression you would expect from someone who sees this every April.
4. Check for State-Specific Deductions You Might Be Missing
Federal taxes get all the attention, but state taxes can have their own deductions that people routinely miss. A few examples:
- 529 Plan contributions — over 30 states offer a state income tax deduction or credit for contributions to 529 education savings plans. Some states (like Pennsylvania) let you deduct the entire contribution.
- Property tax rebate programs — several states expanded these in 2025. Check your state's revenue department website.
- Student loan interest — some states allow additional deductions beyond the federal $2,500 limit.
Last year, my colleague Jamie discovered she had been missing a $1,000 529 deduction on her state return for three years. Three years. She filed amended returns and got $780 back. "I wanted to be mad at my tax software," she said. "But it literally asked me about it. I just clicked 'skip' because I did not know what a 529 was."
5. Itemize vs. Standard Deduction — Actually Do the Math
The 2025 standard deduction is $15,000 for single filers and $30,000 for married filing jointly. That is a high bar to clear, and most people correctly take the standard deduction.
But "most people" is not "all people." If you had significant medical expenses (above 7.5% of AGI), state and local taxes near the $10,000 SALT cap, mortgage interest, or substantial charitable donations, run the numbers both ways.
Tax software does this automatically, but if you are filing by hand or using a basic free filing tool, it might not prompt you. According to the National Taxpayer Advocate, an estimated 2.1 million taxpayers in 2024 took the standard deduction when itemizing would have been more beneficial.
6. Gather Your Side Hustle Income (All of It)
This one bites people hard. If you earned money from freelancing, driving for a rideshare, selling on Etsy, or any gig work in 2025, that income is taxable. Yes, even if you did not receive a 1099. The IRS knows about Venmo and PayPal transactions over $600 now — the reporting threshold that kicked in starting with tax year 2024.
Here is what catches people: you owe self-employment tax (15.3%) on top of income tax. But you can also deduct business expenses — mileage, supplies, home office, internet, software. A lot of gig workers overpay because they report the income but forget the deductions.
The IRS has a useful Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center that walks through exactly what you can and cannot deduct. Bookmark it.
7. Look Into Free Filing Options
If your AGI is $84,000 or less, you can file your federal return for free through the IRS Free File program. The IRS also launched Direct File in 2024, expanding it to more states in 2025. It is genuinely free — no upsells, no "upgrade to deluxe" prompts.
I used Direct File last year out of curiosity. The interface is basic but functional. It took me about 35 minutes for a fairly straightforward return. The experience was refreshingly free of the "ARE YOU SURE YOU DO NOT WANT AUDIT PROTECTION FOR ONLY $39.99?" popups that commercial tax software loves.
Also worth noting: the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free in-person tax preparation if your income is under $67,000. Find a site at irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep.
8. Set Up Estimated Payments to Avoid Next Year's Surprise
This is not about saving money on this year's taxes — it is about preventing the heart attack next April. If you owed more than $1,000 this year, the IRS may charge you an underpayment penalty next year unless you make estimated quarterly payments.
The safe harbor rule: pay at least 100% of this year's tax liability (110% if your AGI is over $150,000) through withholding or estimated payments, and you will avoid the penalty regardless of what you actually owe.
I set up automatic estimated payments three years ago. Best financial decision I have made besides maxing out my 401(k). The quarterly sting is much easier to handle than the annual gut punch.
9. File an Extension If You Need One (But Pay What You Owe)
If you genuinely cannot get your return done by April 15th, file Form 4868 for an automatic six-month extension. This gives you until October 15th to file.
But — and this is critical — an extension to file is NOT an extension to pay. You still need to estimate what you owe and pay it by April 15th. If you do not, you will owe interest and possibly a failure-to-pay penalty (0.5% per month on the unpaid balance).
"I have clients who think 'extension' means 'I do not have to think about taxes until October,' " Karen told me. "Then they get a bill in November with $400 in penalties and act surprised. Every. Single. Year."
The One Thing I Wish Someone Had Told Me
Start a folder — digital or physical — where you throw every tax-relevant document throughout the year. W-2s, 1099s, receipts for deductible expenses, medical bills, charitable donation receipts, everything. When tax season arrives, you just open the folder and everything is there.
I started doing this in 2024 with a simple email label called "TAX 2025." Every receipt, every relevant email, gets that label. When I sat down to do my taxes this year, it took me 90 minutes instead of the usual four-hour document scavenger hunt.
Five weeks. That is what you have. Use them wisely.
For the most current tax guidance, always refer to irs.gov. Tax laws change frequently, and this article reflects information available as of March 2026. A qualified CPA or enrolled agent can help you identify savings specific to your situation.