The Year-End Money Checklist for Dads: 9 Moves to Make Before Dec. 31

A few family money perks quietly reset on December 31. Benefits you already paid for. Grant money for your kids’ education. Tax breaks that only count if the money moves this calendar year.

None of them take long. They just get forgotten, because the last six weeks of the year are school concerts, holiday travel, and sick kids.

From mid-October you have about eleven weeks. This is the checklist to run once, this month, while the calendar is still calm. It’s not your weekly family money meeting, which keeps cash flow and bills on track week to week. This is the annual sweep. Do it in one 45-minute sitting, then drop each action into the weekly meeting until it’s done.

The list has sections for Canada and the U.S. Skip the parts that don’t apply to you.

1. Spend the benefits you already paid for

This is the easiest money on the list because it’s already yours.

Workplace health or wellness spending accounts. Log in to your benefits portal and check three things: your balance, when your plan year ends (often Dec. 31, but not always), and what happens to unused money. Plan rules vary. Some let you carry a balance forward for a limited time; others reset to zero. Don’t guess. Read your plan booklet or call the benefits line.

Annual coverage maximums. Many group plans give you a yearly dollar amount for things like dental, physio, massage, eyewear, or counselling that resets with the plan year. If anyone in the family is due for a cleaning, new glasses, or a physio visit for that sore shoulder, booking it before the reset uses money you’ve already earned. Book now. December appointments fill up fast.

U.S. health FSAs. Health FSAs are use-it-or-lose-it by default. Your employer can offer a grace period of up to 2½ months after the plan year, or a carryover, but not both. Or neither. For plan years starting in 2026, the IRS caps the carryover at $680 and the employee contribution at $3,400. Check which rule your plan uses, then spend down what’s left on eligible expenses.

Open enrollment. If your employer runs benefit elections in the fall, don’t just roll last year’s choices over. A new baby, a kid in braces, or a spouse’s job change can make a different option a better fit. U.S. dads: the IRS usually announces next year’s FSA limits in the fall, so check the 2027 number when you enroll.

2. Canada: grab this year’s RESP grant

If you have kids and an RESP, this is the big one.

The federal Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) adds 20% to your RESP contributions. On the first $2,500 you put in for a child each year, that’s $500 of free money. The grant follows the calendar year, so contributions need to land by Dec. 31 to count for 2026.

Missed a year? You can catch up. Unused grant room carries forward. If you have room left over from earlier years, you can contribute up to $5,000 in a year and get up to $1,000 in grant for that child. The lifetime maximum is $7,200 per child, and grant room builds until the end of the year the child turns 17.

Two more things to check:

• Kids who turn 15 this year. To keep getting the grant at ages 16 and 17, the RESP needs either at least $2,000 contributed (and not withdrawn) by the end of the year the child turns 15, or at least $100 a year in any four years before then. For a 15-year-old, that deadline is this Dec. 31.
• Family income. Lower- and middle-income families can get an extra 10% or 20% grant on the first $500 contributed each year. Your RESP provider handles it; just make sure the account has the right information.

B.C. note: The province also has the B.C. Training and Education Savings Grant, a one-time $1,200 paid into an RESP. You don’t have to contribute anything to get it. You can apply any time from the child’s 6th birthday until the day before they turn 9, through a participating bank or RESP provider. It’s not a Dec. 31 deadline, but if you have a kid in that age window, put the application on this month’s list. The window closes for good at 9.

Practical tip: don’t contribute on Dec. 31 itself. Banks need processing time, and the last week of December is short. Aim for early December.

3. U.S.: check your state’s 529 deadline

There’s no federal tax deduction for 529 contributions, but more than 30 states offer a state income tax deduction or credit. In most of those states, the money has to go in by Dec. 31 to count for the 2026 tax year. A handful (including Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin) allow contributions until mid-April, and Iowa generally uses April 30. Check your own state’s plan before assuming you have extra time.

If grandparents like to give money at the holidays, a 529 contribution is a gift that lasts. For 2026 the IRS annual gift exclusion is $19,000 per recipient, per giver.

4. Canada: time your TFSA, FHSA, and RRSP moves

These three accounts run on different clocks. Knowing which is which keeps you from rushing the wrong one.

TFSA: withdrawal timing matters. The 2026 TFSA limit is $7,000, and unused room carries forward. The catch is withdrawals: money you take out doesn’t create new room until Jan. 1 of the next year. So if you already know you’ll need TFSA money early in 2027 (a car, a renovation, a big tuition bill), pulling it out in December instead of January gets that room back on Jan. 1, 2027, instead of a full year later.

FHSA: calendar year, no grace period. If you’re saving for a first home, First Home Savings Account contributions count by calendar year. A contribution made in January 2027 can’t be deducted on your 2026 return. The annual limit is $8,000, and you can carry forward up to $8,000 of unused room into the next year.

RRSP: not a December deadline. You have until March 1, 2027 (60 days into the new year) to make contributions you can deduct on your 2026 return. Your 2026 room is 18% of your 2025 earned income up to $33,810, minus any pension adjustment, plus unused room from earlier years. Your exact number is on your latest Notice of Assessment or in your CRA account. Don’t guess; over-contributing beyond the small buffer gets penalized. So in Q4, the RRSP job is to check your room and pick an amount, not to scramble.

5. U.S.: retirement and HSA timing

401(k), 403(b), and similar plans run through payroll, so the deadline is effectively your last paycheck of the year. For 2026 the employee limit is $24,500, plus an $8,000 catch-up if you’re 50 or older. If you want to bump your contribution for the rest of the year, change it now while there are still paychecks left.

IRAs and HSAs have until the tax-filing deadline in April 2027 to make 2026 contributions. The 2026 IRA limit is $7,500. The 2026 HSA limit is $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage. These can wait until spring, but pick the amount now so it’s in the budget.

6. Make your donations count this year

In Canada, the donation tax credit generally applies to the year you make the gift. A donation made on Jan. 2 counts for next year, not this one. If you give to a registered charity, do it by Dec. 31 and keep the official receipt. You don’t have to claim donations right away; you can carry them forward and claim them in any of the next five years.

Two dad-friendly moves:

• Pick your causes as a family. Let each kid choose one charity, even if the amount is small. It’s a better money lesson than a lecture.
• Pool receipts. In Canada you can claim donations made by you or your spouse or common-law partner, so many couples put all the receipts on one return. Ask whoever does your taxes which return makes sense.

7. Do the five-minute protection check

This one has no deadline, which is why it never gets done. Year-end is a good forcing date.

• Beneficiaries. Check who’s named on your retirement accounts, TFSA, workplace pension, and life insurance. A new baby, marriage, or separation since you last looked means it may be out of date.
• Life insurance. Does the coverage still match the mortgage and the number of kids? If you’ve had a child or bought a home since you bought the policy, it may not. Our life insurance guide for dads covers how to think about the amount.
• Will and guardianship. If you don’t have a will naming a guardian for your kids, put “book a lawyer or start an online will” on the January list. It’s the one money task that’s entirely about them.

8. Set a holiday spending number before Black Friday

Black Friday is Nov. 27 this year. Decide your total holiday number before the sales start, not during them.

Keep it simple:

1. Pick one total for gifts, travel, food, and hosting.
2. Split it into a few buckets: kids, family and friends, teachers and coaches, travel, food.
3. Track it in one place, like the shared note from your weekly money meeting.
4. Fund it from cash, not next year’s credit card bill. If the number doesn’t fit this year’s cash, the number is too big.

One trick that works with kids: agree on a gift rule early, like “something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read.” It caps the pile without a fight.

9. Start the tax folder now

Tax season is easier when the paperwork is already in one place. Make one folder, paper or digital, and drop things in as they arrive:

• Child care and day camp receipts
• Medical, dental, and prescription receipts not covered by insurance
• Donation receipts
• RESP, TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, 529, or HSA contribution confirmations
• Activity fees and anything else your tax preparer asks for each year

Ten seconds per receipt now saves an evening of digging through email in April.

The Q4 timeline

Your move this week

1. Block 45 minutes this weekend and open your benefits portal, RESP account, and CRA or IRS info.
2. Write down three numbers: unused benefit dollars, this year’s education grant or 529 contribution target, and your holiday total.
3. Put each action on the agenda of your next weekly money meeting, and check them off one by one before Dec. 31.

This isn’t about squeezing out every last dollar. It’s about not leaving money your family already earned on the table. An hour in October beats a scramble on Dec. 30.

This is general information, not personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. Rules and limits change, and your situation is your own. Confirm details with the CRA, IRS, your benefits provider, or a qualified advisor before you act.