5 deeply unsexy things you can do today to beef up your tax refund in 2027

When it comes to tax planning, certified public accountants interviewed for this story said it’s best to rely on tried-and-true strategies to lower the amount you will owe the Internal Revenue Service (IRA) each year.

“It’s rare that there’s some magic tax deduction pill that you can take,” Logan Allec, CPA and owner of CPA Clarita Group, told Moneywise.

Here are five tips that tax filers can take advantage of now ahead of the 2027 tax season.

Maximize your tax-advantaged accounts

Taxpayers should start with the basics, Allec said. By adding pre-tax dollars to your 401(k), 403(b) or traditional IRA, you effectively lower your taxable income without much effort. This means the more money you put toward a tax-advantaged account, the less of your earnings Uncle Sam is able to tax.

The last quarter of the year is a great time to bump up contributions to these plans, assuming you have the wiggle room in your budget, Allec said. The same is true for pre-tax contributions to your health savings account.

All of these accounts have different caps. For 2026, employees can contribute up to $24,500 into their 401(k), with additional catch-up contributions available if they are 50 or older. IRA contributions are capped at $7,500 and 8,600 for those 50 and older. Individuals eligible for HSA contributions can have up to $4,400 taken out of their paychecks pre-tax, and $8,750 for family coverage.

“These accounts are the low-hanging fruit and some of the easiest ways to reduce current taxable income while building savings,” said Tram Le, owner of Le CPA Group.

Tax-loss harvesting

If you’re an active or even a casual investor, chances are there are equities inside your brokerage account portfolio that have generated great returns in 2026 and others where you may have taken a loss.

When you sell individual stocks, ETFs or index funds for profit, you pay capital gains taxes on those earnings. How much you pay depends on your filing status, your taxable income level and how long you held the equity.

Short-term capital gains taxes are much higher than securities you hold for at least a year. The latter would invoke long-term capital gains taxes of 0%, 15% or 20% by the IRS depending on your income. For example, single filers with a total adjusted annual income of between $49,451 and $545,500 pay 15% capital gains tax.

One of the more popular strategies to lower your capital gains taxes is to sell other investments you’ve suffered losses on. This strategy is called tax-loss harvesting. But keep in mind that short-term losses have to be applied for short-term gains and long-term losses are applied to long-term investments.

If you’re struggling to figure out what investments to sell, it’s best to consult a financial advisor. In many cases, however, investors choose to dump equities that no longer fit in with their broader investment strategy or can be replaced with similar investments.

“You should look at your overall investment goals and be mindful of other nuances, such as wash-sale rules,” Le said. Wash-sale rules specify that you cannot buy a substantially identical investment within 30 days, after selling another at a loss to reap the tax benefits.

Claim charitable donations even with the standard deduction

Prior to 2026, taxfilers could not deduct charitable donations unless they itemized expenses. But this year, you can. Taxpayers feeling generous with their leftover income can deduct up to $1,000 on their tax returns ($2,000 if married and filing jointly), according to the IRS.

Beware that gifts to individuals are not deductible. Only qualified charities are eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. The IRS has a list of tax-exempt organizations for anyone to choose what they want to donate to based on causes that resonate with them.

Itemizing your taxes still potentially allows you to deduct more of your charitable donations on your taxes, but according to Kiplinger the lion’s share of Americans (roughly nine in 10) opt to take the standard deduction because their out-of-pocket deductible expenses do not come close to reaching the level of standard deduction. For 2026, the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for joint filers.

Retirees: Figure out what income you want to recognize

Entering retirement is the first time that many adults begin paying themselves a salary from the nest egg they’ve built up over the years.

For this reason, Le said that older adults and taxpayers nearing retirement should spend less time finding deductions and more time looking at which income should be recognized in which year.

“Retirees have more flexibility over when their income can be recognized,” she said. “For most people during working years, their income comes from wages which are pretty much fixed, stable and taxed when it’s earned.”