When gearing up for year-end client tax planning meetings, CPAs can no longer rely solely on heuristics or spreadsheets. With rapid legislative shifts (e.g. the new One Big Beautiful Bill changes) and intensifying client expectations, using advanced tools like Hive Tax AI research and planning positions your practice ahead of the curve. In this post, we’ll walk through how to structure your year-end meeting, key planning topics for 2025, and how Hive Tax’s AI capabilities can accelerate and elevate your tax research and planning. (Yes—you’ll want to bring this tool into your client conversations.)
Why the Year-End Meeting Is More Critical Than Ever
The tax landscape is in flux. For example, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, extended certain TCJA provisions and materially raised the SALT deduction cap (from $10,000 to $40,000, within AGI limits) for 2025–2029.
That means many clients—especially in high-tax states—have fresh planning levers that didn’t exist in prior years. A well-structured meeting lets you identify these opportunities (and risks) proactively, rather than reacting at tax-filing time.
Furthermore, AI and automation are transforming how CPAs deliver value. As one recent article observes, firms that don’t embrace AI risk falling behind in efficiency and client service.
So your year-end planning meeting isn’t just about tax numbers—it’s about repositioning your practice as a forward-looking advisor, leveraging technology to do more in less time.
Structuring an Effective Year-End Tax Planning Meeting
Here’s a suggested agenda you can adapt for your clients:
| Segment | Purpose | Key Questions / Tools |
| Pre-Meeting Prep | Ensure both you and the client come in informed | Use Hive Tax AI to scan client data and flag issues (e.g. multi-state exposure, trust income, SALT complexities) |
| Review Current Year Performance | Assess how actual numbers differ from projections | Compare income, expense, investment, and realization variances; check for unusual events |
| Highlight Legislative & Regulatory Changes | Educate client on changes that affect them | Discuss OBBB changes (SALT, overtime deduction, 1099 thresholds, etc.) |
| Tax Planning Options & Trade-offs | Collaboratively work through strategic levers | Strategies like tax-loss harvesting, Roth conversions, deferral vs. prepayment, charitable timing, entity structure review, multistate planning |
| Scenario Modeling & Sensitivity | Show impact under different outcomes | Use AI tools like Hive Tax to generate “what if” scenarios (e.g. future rate changes, audit risk, state law shifts) |
| Action Items & Timeline | Leave the meeting with a clear roadmap | Set deadlines for elections, contributions, asset moves, documentation requirements, follow-ups |
| Ongoing Monitoring & Check-Ins | Keep the plan alive | Use alerts (via AI) to flag deviations or new opportunities mid-year |
Top Year-End Topics to Cover in 2025
Here are the planning levers you’ll want clients to consider (and which you can proactively flag using AI tools):
- Revisit SALT and State & Local Tax Exposure
Because of the OBBB’s raised SALT cap, some clients may now benefit from itemizing again or restructuring income among trusts/entities. - Charitable Bunching & Donor-Advised Funds (DAF)
Bundling multiple years of giving or leveraging DAFs can maximize deduction flexibility. - Tax-Loss Harvesting & Wash Sale Management
Realizing capital losses to offset gains is always relevant. In 2025, with continued market volatility, this is a must. - Maxing Retirement & HSAs / Above-the-Line Moves
Encourage clients to hit contribution limits for 401(k), IRA, HSA, etc. - Roth Conversions & Income Shifting
For clients expecting higher future rates, converting traditional IRA to Roth may be timely. Fit this into the broader income picture. - Entity & Pass-Through Structuring
Especially for businesses or rental property owners, these election decisions (e.g. S corp, disregarded entity vs partnership) often benefit from modeling. - Trusts, Gifting & Estate Moves
For high-net-worth clients, consider strategies to shift income, accelerate or delay gifts, or redistribute income among trusts. Use AI tools to simulate tax consequences. - State & Multistate Complexity
Clients with multiple state exposures must revisit allocation, apportionment, nexus, and tax credits. AI tax tools can help detect overlooked state rules. - Audit Risk & Compliance Considerations
If clients are in higher scrutiny brackets (e.g. high capital gains, large deductions), you should document decisions thoroughly. AI can help by generating research memos and flagging risk thresholds.
How Hive Tax AI Research & Planning Tools Can Elevate Your Year-End Workflow
You know the challenge: juggling tax code, planning ideas, client data, and maintaining productivity. That’s where Hive Tax AI becomes a differentiator. Below are how it helps in the context of your year-end planning meeting.
1. Accelerated Research & Insights
Hive Tax’s AI capabilities let you input facts (client structure, state exposures, income types) and instantly retrieve tailored research, relevant code sections, and planning ideas. No more digging through multiple sources manually.
2. Scenario Generation & Sensitivity Modeling
Want to show a client how their tax burden changes if they realize $100K in gains vs $0? Or if they shift from S corp to LLC? Hive Tax can run “what-if” analyses and produce side-by-side comparisons quickly.
3. Intelligent Alerts & Risk Flags
Hive can monitor client data streams (or your input) and flag items that merit further attention: for example, triggers for AMT, SALT cap constraints, state nexus changes, or audit red flags.
4. Client-Ready Reporting & Explainability
AI often gets a bad rap for “black box.” Hive Tax helps by producing clean memos, annotated research, citations, and narrative explanations you can share with clients to explain your recommendations.
5. Workflow Integration & Efficiency
Because it plugs into your process, you don’t have to jump between tools. Use it during meeting prep, live in the meeting, or afterward to generate tasks, draft memos, or follow-up material.
By embedding Hive Tax AI into your tax planning practice, you gain the analytical horsepower to deliver deeper insights faster, freeing you to focus more on client strategy and relationship.
Sample Year-End Meeting Script (with AI-assisted Flow)
Here’s how you might walk through a meeting, weaving in AI:
- Opening & Context
- “Before our meeting, I ran your 2025 projections through Hive Tax. It flagged three areas of opportunity: (a) SALT exposure, (b) Roth conversion sensitivity, (c) state tax nuance on rentals.”
- “Before our meeting, I ran your 2025 projections through Hive Tax. It flagged three areas of opportunity: (a) SALT exposure, (b) Roth conversion sensitivity, (c) state tax nuance on rentals.”
- Review Current Year vs Forecast
- “Compared to your original projections, your capital gains are $X higher. If we realize additional losses, we can mitigate tax liability—Hive suggests we can realize up to $Y in losses before hitting wash sale constraints.”
- “Compared to your original projections, your capital gains are $X higher. If we realize additional losses, we can mitigate tax liability—Hive suggests we can realize up to $Y in losses before hitting wash sale constraints.”
- Present Modeling of Key Alternatives
- “Here are two scenarios:
- Scenario A: Stay the course
- Scenario B: Implement Roth conversion + higher charitable giving
Under Scenario B, your net federal tax drops by $Z (assuming no legislative changes).”
- Scenario A: Stay the course
- “Here are two scenarios:
- Walk Through Trade-Offs
- “If we accelerate deductions now, your future taxable base will shift. Let’s look at those impacts side by side.”
- “If we accelerate deductions now, your future taxable base will shift. Let’s look at those impacts side by side.”
- Agree on Actions & Timeline
- “We’ll file your SALT planning by November 15, schedule your IRA contributions by December 31, prepare a gift transfer in Q4, and reconvene early Q1 2026 to reassess.”
- “We’ll file your SALT planning by November 15, schedule your IRA contributions by December 31, prepare a gift transfer in Q4, and reconvene early Q1 2026 to reassess.”
- Document & Follow Up
- Use Hive to generate a memo summarizing the meeting and attach the scenario outputs. Send to client with a next-steps checklist.
- Use Hive to generate a memo summarizing the meeting and attach the scenario outputs. Send to client with a next-steps checklist.
Best Practices & Tips for CPAs
- Do your prep early — don’t wait until December. Running models in mid-Q4 gives clients time to act.
- Use AI as your assistant, not autopilot — always review and annotate; maintain professional oversight.
- Stay current on legislative changes — AI tools can help, but you need your finger on the pulse.
- Train staff to adopt AI workflows — a team that’s comfortable with AI will be more efficient.
- Document rationale and research clearly — especially when pushing aggressive positions, you want clean audit trails.
- Bring the client into the process — show them scenario outputs and let them see trade-offs in real time.
Conclusion
Year-end tax planning meetings are your moment to shift the conversation from reactive compliance to proactive strategic advising. With sweeping changes like the One Big Beautiful Bill and evolving client expectations, you need smarter, faster tools to stay competitive.
By integrating Hive Tax’s AI research and planning tools into your workflow, you gain:
- Rapid, tailored research insights
- Scenario modeling that informs client choices
- Risk flagging and compliance guardrails
- Client-ready memos and explainability
- Efficiency gains freeing you to focus on strategy
Ready to level up your year-end planning meetings this season? Let’s explore how you can onboard Hive tax tool into your firm process and start delivering elevated value now.