Businesses and individuals habitually sprint toward December with a shoebox of receipts and a desperate to-do list. That instinct, leave tax planning until Q4, makes sense emotionally but is expensive practically. As Carlos H. Lowenberg Jr., founder of Masterpiece Capital, says, "Planning in Q3, not Q4, turns tax season from a fire drill into an intentional strategy."
"Start with time. When you plan in Q3, you gain breathing room to explore options that take weeks or months to execute, trusts, donor-advised funds, or entity restructuring, rather than forcing hasty purchases or rushed write-offs in December," Lowenberg points out. "Last-minute moves are often hasty decisions that are not optimal, and thoughtful timing unlocks more opportunities you simply can't access at the eleventh hour."
