How to Look for Opportunities for Tax Planning Year 2026

Tax planning opportunities often begin with a question that goes beyond the numbers: What changed in your client’s business, and why? In this episode of Let’s Talk Tax, host Dave McGuire joins Jerry Hammel, CPA, to discuss how CPAs can use those conversations to identify potential specialty tax strategies and help clients plan ahead.

Dave and Jerry explore why 2026 projections may look different for clients who took a substantial domestic research cost catch-up deduction in 2025. They also discuss commonly overlooked areas, including IC-DISC export planning, R&D tax credits, cost segregation, and qualified improvement property.

The conversation addresses the relationship side of advisory work, from raising a previously missed opportunity to helping clients evaluate tax ideas they hear from friends, trade shows, or AI tools. Regular communication gives CPAs a chance to understand the facts and explain which strategies may fit.

Looking ahead, Dave and Jerry discuss how future products, facility investments, deduction timing, and state and local taxes can shape a multi-year plan. Their practical takeaway: ask what happened this year, understand what is coming next, and leave time to evaluate and implement the appropriate strategies.

Watch or listen to the full episode for questions you can bring to your next client planning conversation.

Continue your planning conversations with McGuire Sponsel’s Planning Guide for Tax Year 2026, downloadable Opportunity Checklist, and on-demand webinar, How Should CPA Firms Be Positioning Clients—and Themselves—for Tax Year 2026?.