How to write a year-end tax planning letter that gets owners to book

A year-end tax planning letter has one job. It gets the owners who face a decision before December 31 to book a short review with you while there is still time to act. Keep it to one page, list a handful of dated 2026 items with their IRS source, send a separate version to each owner type, and finish with one booking link and one date when reviews close.

A letter that covers every change in the law and ends with "call us with questions" gives the reader nothing to do by a date. The letter below is built the other way round. Every line either names a date or moves the reader toward the booking link.

Two rule sets apply before you press send. Section 7216 limits what you can do with a prep client list, and Circular 230 covers what you write and how you solicit. Both are covered below, in plain words, with links to the official text.

What this year's letter has to work with

The calendar gives you the reason to write. After December 31, some 2026 decisions are closed, and the next IRS date most owners will feel is the fourth estimated payment. The IRS lists that payment as due January 15 of the following year, so January 15, 2027 for 2026 tax (IRS, estimated tax due dates).

Pick four to six items from the table. Each one has a figure or a date and a source you can link in the letter.

Anything you add that the IRS adjusts each year needs the same check against the current IRS page before you print it.

The letter, section by section

One page, five parts. The template follows.

1. A subject line with a date in it. "Three tax decisions for S corporation owners before December 31" tells the reader who it's for and when it ends. "Year-end tax update" tells them nothing.

2. One opening sentence about their year. Keep it general. "If your profit moved this year, a few decisions need to happen before December 31."

3. Three to five dated items. One or two lines each. A figure or date, then who it affects. Link each one to the IRS page.

4. One request. Book a review by a named date. Give one link. A second call to action, such as "reply with questions," splits the response and fills your inbox with free advice requests.

5. A plain closing note. Say the letter is general information, that it isn't advice for their situation, and that the review is where you look at their numbers.

Year-end tax planning letter template

Fill the brackets. Delete any item that doesn't fit the owner type you're sending to.

Subject: [Three] tax decisions for [S corporation owners] before December 31

Dear [first name],

If your business had a different year from the one you planned, a few tax decisions need to happen before December 31. Some of them can't be changed after that date.

Here is what is on the 2026 calendar for [S corporation owners]:

• Retirement contributions. The 2026 limit for 401(k) deferrals is $24,500, with an $8,000 catch-up at 50 and over, or $11,250 at ages 60 to 63 (IRS).
• Equipment. Qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025 can qualify for a 100% first-year deduction (IRS).
• Your January 15 payment. The last estimated payment for 2026 is due January 15, 2027. If your profit changed, the amount may need to change too (IRS).

We are holding [number] short year-end reviews between [date] and [date]. In a review we look at your numbers and settle which of these apply to you and what to do before December 31. [If you send to your prep client list, check section 7216 consent first. See the rules below.]

[Book your year-end review]

Reviews close on [date].

[Name], [CPA or EA], [Firm]

[If your adviser says this counts as a solicitation: "This is a solicitation for tax planning services. We used [our client records] to choose who receives it."]

[Email only: "Don't want these emails? Reply 'stop' and we'll take you off the list." Then your firm's postal address, [postal address].]

This letter is general information about federal tax rules. It is not advice for your situation. We give advice only after we've reviewed your facts.

The letter names decisions without answering them. That keeps the answers for the paid review, which is where you'll have the facts to give them. See how to stop giving free tax advice for the same idea in a consultation.

See if your firm is a fit

One letter per owner type

A single letter for everyone ends up long and vague. Three or four short versions work better, each with only the items that touch that owner.

Subject lines for each version, in the same order: "Salary, retirement and your January 15 payment before December 31", "Should your business be an S corporation in 2027?", "Partner payouts and January 15, before December 31", and "Trump Accounts and overtime reporting, new for employers in 2026".

The S corporation version can lead with salary because the IRS says an S corporation must pay reasonable compensation to a shareholder-employee for services before non-wage distributions are made (IRS, S corporation compensation).

How you build these groups matters. A prep client list kept under the section 7216 rules may hold entity classification and income tax return form number, so sorting into Form 1120-S, Form 1065 and individual Form 1040 groups sits inside what that list holds (26 CFR 301.7216-2(n)). Schedule C is part of Form 1040, so the list alone won't separate sole proprietors from other individual filers. Sorting by anything else you took from the return, such as Schedule C, age, income or employee count, is a use of return information. Ask your adviser before you segment that way.

Rules to check before the letter goes out

These are plain-words summaries with links. They aren't legal advice.

Section 7216 and your prep client list. The regulations let you keep a list of prep clients' names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, entity classification and return form number. You may use it to send tax information and general business or economic information for educational purposes, or to offer more tax return preparation. The rule also says, "The list may not be used to solicit any service or product other than tax return preparation services" (26 CFR 301.7216-2(n)).

That puts the two halves of the letter in different places. The dated items are tax information. The paid review offer is a solicitation. Using return information to solicit other services generally needs the client's signed written consent first under 26 CFR 301.7216-3 (26 CFR 301.7216-3). Ask your adviser whether your planning offer needs that consent.

When the IRS finalised the list rules, it declined to add an exception for using return information to solicit accounting services and said clients may consent in writing to that use instead (T.D. 9608, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2013-03). The regulations don't say whether tax planning counts as "tax return preparation services."

Timing matters for next year. You may not ask for consent to solicit business unrelated to return preparation after you hand over the completed return for signature (26 CFR 301.7216-3(b)). If you want consent on file before next year's letter, ask at the start of the engagement. The inbound or outbound guide lists what the consent must contain.

Circular 230 on what you write. Section 10.37 sets requirements for written advice on federal tax matters, including by electronic communication. Written advice must rest on reasonable factual and legal assumptions and consider the relevant facts the practitioner knows or reasonably should know (31 CFR 10.37). A letter that tells a named reader "you should buy equipment before December 31" without their numbers is hard to square with that. Keep the letter to facts and dates, and keep recommendations for the review.

Circular 230 on soliciting. The solicitation rules in section 10.30 cover solicitations made "directly or indirectly", and lawful ones "made by or on behalf of" a practitioner. Any lawful solicitation made by you or for you must clearly say it is a solicitation and, if applicable, name the source of the information used to choose the recipient. For direct mail and what the rule calls "e-commerce communications," keep a copy of the actual message and a list or description of who received it for at least 36 months from the last time it was sent or used (31 CFR 10.30).

Email law. If you send it by email and it counts as commercial email, federal law requires clear identification that the message is an advertisement or solicitation unless the recipient gave prior affirmative consent, a clear notice of how to opt out, and a valid physical postal address. Opt-outs must be honoured within 10 business days (15 USC 7704).

Security. Don't ask anyone to reply with documents or Social Security numbers. Point them to your portal or the booking link only.

When to send it

This is our suggested schedule. Adjust the dates to your own capacity.

• First send, early November. Extensions are done and owners still have weeks to act.
• Reminder, first week of December. Same letter, new first line: "Reviews close on [date]."
• Last note, mid-December. Two lines, sent only to people who opened but didn't book.
• January. A short note before January 15 for owners whose estimated payment may need to change.

Count your review slots before you send. If you can hold a set number of reviews before December 31, say so in the letter and stop sending when they're gone. A booked-out calendar is a better problem than a letter that promises reviews you can't hold.

Owners who aren't on your list yet

The letter works on owners who already know you. It does nothing for the business owners in your area who have never heard of your firm, and those are the owners a growing planning practice needs next. For them you need a source of new enquiries, such as referrals, search, ads or outside help. Our guide to tax planning lead generation compares the options and what each one costs you in time.

Mistakes that get year-end letters ignored

• Ten items with no dates. Owners skim for what affects them. Five dated lines beat a page of summaries.
• No closing date. Without one, "we should look at this" becomes January.
• Advice inside the letter. It gives away the review and puts unchecked advice in writing.
• One version for everyone. A sole proprietor reading about S corporation salary rules stops reading.
• Figures you didn't check. Indexed amounts change. Link every figure to the IRS page you took it from.
• A savings promise. "Save thousands before December 31" invites the wrong owners. See selling planning without promising savings.

Where to start this week

1. Pick four to six items from the table and check each figure against the linked IRS page.
2. Write one version per owner type, each with three items.
3. Decide how many reviews you can hold before December 31 and open those slots.
4. Ask your adviser about section 7216 consent for the review offer, and settle your email footer.
5. Send the first version in early November, with the reminder already scheduled.

Questions firm owners ask

What should a year-end tax planning letter include? Three to five dated items for the reader's owner type, each with a figure or deadline and an IRS source, one link to book a review, the date reviews close, and a note that the letter is general information and not advice for their situation.

When should a tax firm send year-end tax planning letters? Our suggestion is early November, once extension work is done, with a reminder in early December and a short last note in mid-December. Some 2026 decisions close on December 31, and the fourth 2026 estimated payment is due January 15, 2027.

Can I send a year-end letter to my tax prep client list? A prep client list kept under 26 CFR 301.7216-2(n) may be used to send tax information for educational purposes, but it may not be used to solicit any service other than tax return preparation. Using return information to solicit other services generally needs the client's signed written consent first under 26 CFR 301.7216-3. Ask your adviser whether your planning offer needs that consent.

Should a year-end letter give tax advice? Keep it to facts and dates. Circular 230 section 10.37 requires written advice to rest on reasonable assumptions and the relevant facts, so specific recommendations belong in the review, after you've seen the owner's numbers.

Is a year-end tax planning email different from a letter? The content can be the same. A commercial email also needs a clear opt-out notice, a valid physical postal address and, unless the recipient gave prior consent, identification as an advertisement or solicitation under 15 USC 7704.

Sources

General information from the official sources listed below, checked 25 Oct 2026. Not tax or legal advice.

• IRS, estimated tax due dates (FAQ)
• IRS, 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026 (IR-2025-111)
• IRS Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax
• IRS, Working Families Tax Cuts
• IRS, Working Families Tax Cuts, businesses
• IRS, Working Families Tax Cuts, individuals and workers
• IRS, Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 2026 inflation adjustments (section 179)
• IRS, instructions for Form 2553
• IRS, S corporation compensation and medical insurance issues
• 26 CFR 301.7216-2, uses without consent (eCFR)
• 26 CFR 301.7216-3, uses with consent (eCFR)
• Internal Revenue Bulletin 2013-03, T.D. 9608 (section 7216 final rules)
• 31 CFR 10.30, solicitation (eCFR)
• 31 CFR 10.37, requirements for written advice (eCFR)
• 15 USC 7704, CAN-SPAM requirements (Cornell LII)

If you'd rather have qualified owners booked for you

Financial Sales Insider is a marketing company that fills US CPA and EA firms' calendars with qualified tax planning meetings.

Your firm meets the business owners, explains its planning service, and decides which clients to take on.

See if your firm is a fit

Related: A 12-month marketing plan for planning work · Stop giving free tax advice · Inbound or outbound

Johnny Logan, Founder, Financial Sales Insider.

Financial Sales Insider · Florida · (305) 513-1710