5 Money Moves to Make Before 2025 Ends

The clock is ticking. Once January 1st hits, your 2025 tax optimization window narrows. Here are five moves to make before the year ends.

1. Use Your TFSA Room

2025 TFSA Contribution Limit: $7,000

Your TFSA is the most flexible tax-advantaged account in Canada. Unlike RRSPs, there's no tax on withdrawals, and unused room carries forward.

Check your room:

• Log into your CRA My Account
• Look for "TFSA contribution room"
• Don't over-contribute (1% monthly penalty!)

What to hold in your TFSA:

• Growth investments (maximum tax-free gains)
• US dividend stocks (avoid withholding tax issues in RRSP)
• Your emergency fund (if invested in high-interest savings)

If you haven't used your 2025 room, you've got until December 31st before the new year's room opens.

Calculate your take-home pay →

2. Plan Your RRSP Contribution

2025 RRSP Deadline: March 1, 2026 (for 2025 tax year)

While you have until March to contribute, planning now makes sense:

Check your contribution room:

• 18% of previous year's earned income
• Minus pension adjustments
• Maximum $31,560 for 2025

The tax savings:

Consider whether TFSA or RRSP makes more sense for your situation—lower income earners often benefit more from TFSA.

3. Tax-Loss Selling

If you have investments in non-registered accounts that are down, consider selling before December 31st.

How it works:

• Sell investments at a loss
• Use capital losses to offset capital gains
• If losses exceed gains, carry them forward to future years

The rules:

• Settlement must occur by December 31st (sell by December 27th to be safe)
• Don't repurchase the same investment within 30 days (superficial loss rule)
• Consider buying a similar (but not identical) ETF to maintain exposure

Example: Sell a Canadian equity ETF at a loss, immediately buy a different Canadian equity ETF. Same exposure, harvested loss.

4. Review Charitable Donations

Donations made by December 31st count for your 2025 taxes.

The credit:

• 15% federal credit on first $200
• 29% federal credit on amounts over $200
• Provincial credits add more

Smart strategies:

• Donate appreciated securities instead of cash (no capital gains tax)
• "Bunch" donations if you're close to credit thresholds
• Keep all receipts for tax time

If you're donating anyway, doing it before year-end maximizes the tax benefit.

5. Set Up 2026 Automations

January is too late. Set these up now:

Automatic TFSA contributions - Schedule monthly contributions starting January 1st to use your new room systematically.

RRSP auto-deposits - Dollar-cost average into your RRSP instead of scrambling at deadline.

Bill payments - Automate everything to avoid late fees and credit score impacts.

Investment purchases - Regular buying beats trying to time the market.

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The Before-2025-Ends Checklist

Run Your Numbers

• Canadian Salary Calculator - See tax impacts
• Investment Returns Calculator - Project your growth
• Debt Payoff Calculator - Plan your debt attack
• FIRE Calculator - Track financial independence

The Bottom Line

Tax planning isn't just for April. The moves you make in the next few days can save you thousands and set you up for a stronger 2026.

The best time to optimize was January. The second best time is right now.