The year-end question we hear most often from practice owners is some version of "what can we still do?" The honest answer is less than you could have done in August, but more than you will be able to do after December 31.

Eight things are worth your attention between now and the end of the year. A few of them apply mainly to S-corp practices or practices with optical inventory. If your structure is simpler than that, this list will be shorter for you. But most ODs reading this have both.

1. Owner compensation review (S-corps)

If your practice runs as an S-corp, the payroll you ran this year is already largely set. What you can still look at before year-end is the relationship between the salary you paid yourself and any distributions you are planning to take before December 31. These interact in ways that affect your payroll tax picture for the year.

This is not a December 30 conversation. By then, payroll cycles have closed and options narrow. October is when you run through this with your accountant and decide whether anything needs to happen before year-end. If you have not had that call yet, it is the first item on this list.

2. Frame inventory count

Your frame boards hold capital, and some of it ages out. Before year-end, physically count what is in your dispensary and flag any frames that have been sitting for more than 18 months. If the market value of those frames is below what you originally paid, you may be able to recognize a write-down on your 2026 return, which reduces your cost of goods for the year.

The count itself is your team's job. Your accountant needs a real number to close optical COGS correctly. An estimated inventory figure creates a measurement error that carries into next year's comparison, so this is worth doing right.

For a deeper look at how frame inventory affects your monthly financial picture, our optometry KPI benchmarks guide covers the turns and aging ratios that a well-run practice tracks.

3. Equipment purchases

If you have been planning a significant equipment purchase and have the cash or financing in place, the date you put the equipment into service matters. Equipment placed in service by December 31 of this year can be analyzed for immediate expensing under current tax law. The analysis requires knowing your entity structure and your current-year taxable income before you make the call, which means this is a November decision, not a December one.

Timelines for installing an OCT or a digital retinal camera are not always predictable. If a major purchase is on your radar, bring it to your accountant now, not after you have already committed. The tax picture is one input; it should not be the only one, but it is a real one.

4. Retirement plan contributions

Whether you are on track to maximize contributions for 2026 depends on your plan type and how your practice is structured. A sole proprietor operates under different rules and deadlines than an S-corp with W-2 wages. The limits and timelines differ, and some plan changes need to happen before December 31.

This is not a decision the article can settle for you, because the right answer is specific to your structure. What we work through with OD clients in October: are you in the right plan for your current situation, and are contributions on track for the year? If you have not had that conversation, before November is the right window.

5. Contractor payments and 1099 prep

If you paid any individual contractors this year, a 1099-NEC is required for any individual paid $2,000 or more for services during 2026. The deadline to get those forms to recipients is January 31, which falls on a Sunday in 2027, so it moves to Monday, February 1. That sounds comfortable until you realize the prep work needs to happen now.

Step one: collect a W-9 from any contractor who has not provided one. Without a taxpayer identification number, you cannot file. Step two: pull your year's records and confirm that contractor payments are clearly separated from other vendor expenses in your books. If those categories are mixed, year-end is when the problem surfaces.

Staffing agencies and incorporated businesses generally do not receive a 1099 from you, but individual practitioners, consultants, or technicians paid directly for work at your practice typically do. The IRS guidance on the distinction between employees and independent contractors is the right resource if you are uncertain about how someone should be classified.

6. Books current through at least October

Year-end planning built on numbers that are three months out of date is mostly guesswork. If your books are open for July or August, get those closed first, before you schedule any planning conversations. What your accountant can tell you about 2026 is only as useful as the period they can actually see.

By mid-November, your reconciled books should be current through October at minimum. If they are not there, that is the bottleneck on everything else in this list.

7. A look at both revenue streams

Clinical revenue and optical revenue do not always move together. If one line had a noticeably worse quarter, the cause matters: staffing, frame selection, insurance mix, appointment volume. Q4 is a useful time to compare both lines against last year and understand what drove any divergence, while the year is still open and the context is fresh.

It also gives next year’s planning a firmer starting point. If you are also thinking about how this year's performance affects your practice's valuation, how optometry practice valuations are calculated covers what drives multiples and why your financial history is the primary input.

8. A real planning conversation before the year ends

Do not wait for the planning conversation to find you. Whether or not your accountant reaches out in October, the items on this list get resolved through a conversation with someone who knows your numbers, not by filling out a form in January.

If you are thinking about a major practice change in the next year or two, a potential sale or a new partnership structure, Q4 is the right time to bring it into the planning conversation. Your accountant needs to see the year's numbers to tell you what the options actually look like. Waiting until April means the year has already closed around whatever decision you were weighing.

Our KPI white paper for optometry practice owners covers the monthly numbers worth tracking and what a year-end financial picture should look like across both revenue streams. It is free to download on the optometry page.

If the items on this list are not already part of how you close out the year, that is also worth a conversation. You can book a 30-minute call to walk through where your practice stands and what still makes sense to address before December 31.

Questions owners ask about this

What should I do with frame inventory before year-end?

Count what is on your boards before December 31. Any frames that have been sitting for more than 18 months may be worth less than what you paid for them, which means you may be able to recognize a write-down and reduce your cost of goods for the year. The physical count is your team's job, not your accountant's, but your accountant needs an accurate number to close optical COGS correctly. An estimated figure creates errors that carry into the following year.

When is it too late to make year-end tax moves?

December 31 is the hard cutoff for most decisions that affect your current-year tax return. Realistically, decisions that involve payroll adjustments, retirement plan changes, or major equipment purchases need to happen in October or November to be done correctly. Calling your accountant on December 27 is better than not calling, but many planning moves are off the table by then.

Do I need to send a 1099-NEC to someone I hired through a staffing agency?

Generally no. If you paid a staffing agency and the agency employed the worker, your payment went to a business entity. However, if you paid an individual contractor directly for work at your practice, a 1099-NEC is required for any individual paid $2,000 or more for services during 2026. When there is uncertainty about how a payment was structured, your accountant can review the year's contractor records and determine what needs to be filed.

How does S-corp status affect my year-end planning as a practice owner?

If your practice is an S-corp, you pay yourself a salary through payroll. The split between that salary and any year-end distributions affects your payroll taxes and your overall tax picture, and the IRS expects the salary to be reasonable for the work you do. The right split depends on your practice revenue, expenses, and structure. Bring this to your accountant in October, not December, because payroll changes take time to process and the pay periods left in the year are limited.

My books are several months behind. Can I still do useful year-end planning?

You can, but with significant limits. Year-end tax planning requires knowing where you actually stand financially, and that means current, reconciled books. If your books are open for several months, get those closed before scheduling a planning conversation. A strategy session built on numbers that are months out of date leads to decisions you probably would not make with the real picture in front of you.