Four things with a date attached, all of them still actionable, all of them easy to miss by simply not acting.
The research election that is still open
If you capitalized domestic research costs in 2022 through 2024, there is still an election to recover what remains unamortized — either entirely in the first year beginning after 31 December 2024, or ratably over two. The separate small-business retroactive election closed on 6 July 2026. If you missed it, late-election relief is fact-dependent rather than impossible, and that is worth a look rather than an assumption.
There is a four-year window on the SALT deduction
The cap is $40,400 for 2026, grows 1 percent a year through 2029, and then reverts to $10,000. It also phases down by 30 percent of modified adjusted gross income above $505,000, though never below $10,000. That is a four-year window, and the shape of the window drives the decision more than this year's number does.
Two ways to miss a pass-through election
Pass-through entity taxes survived — the limitation proposed during the 2025 negotiations was dropped from the enacted law, so New Jersey's BAIT and New York's PTET both still operate, and they are worth more, not less, once the cap begins phasing down. New Jersey's election is annual, made by the PTE-100 due date, and it does not carry forward, so a year gets missed simply by not being elected. New York's window is 1 January to 15 March, and only an authorized entity representative can make it. And the federal deductibility of these taxes still rests on a single 2020 notice, with no proposed or final regulations behind it six years on. We treat that as durable, not as settled.
The 1031 clock has a second hand
An exchange still requires identification within 45 days and completion within 180 — or by your return due date including extensions, whichever comes first. That second prong is usually left out of the marketing, and it is the one that catches a late-year exchange.
This post is general information about federal and state tax rules, not advice about your situation. Rules change. Check the date above before you rely on anything here, and talk to us about your own facts.