Last-Chance Learning: Use Remaining Training Funds Before Year-End

Why December Might Be the Most Valuable Month for Upskilling

As the calendar approaches Dec. 31, many HR, L&D and finance leaders discover they have unused training dollars.

For most organizations, unspent training budgets don’t carry over. They’re re-absorbed into general budgets or cut during planning cycles, especially in tighter fiscal environments. That means the next few weeks represent an important (and often overlooked) opportunity to fund growth, build critical skills, and optimize tax outcomes before the end of the year.

If your organization still has a learning budget left, now is the time to act.

Why You Should Use Remaining Learning Budget Now

1. Employee Learning Is a Tax-Advantaged Investment 

Under IRS Section 127, employers can offer up to $5,250 per employee per year in educational assistance. That amount is:

• tax-deductible for the employer
• tax-free for the employee

 That makes learning not just a talent play but a financially efficient move.

2. Unused Budget Often Disappears

Training budgets are typically use-it-or-lose-it. Any unspent funds:

• weaken next year’s budget requests
• delay skill growth and talent readiness
• represent missed retention and performance gains

Investing now signals that upskilling is a priority and helps protect future dollars.

3. It’s Faster and Easier Than It Used to Be

Traditional tuition programs take weeks of paperwork and approvals. Modern platforms like SkillsWave let employees discover programs, request approval, and track budget in one place. This makes accelerating rollout and increasing utilization before the deadline a breeze.

• Organizations that offer robust training programs report up to 218% higher income per employee than those without formalized learning.
• Training-supported firms also tend to see ~17% increases in productivity compared with those who don’t invest.
• On a per-learner basis, recent data shows companies are spending around $774 per learner (2024), down from $954 in 2023.

Given those returns, even a modest leftover budget can drive outsized business and talent impact if spent wisely.

How to Deploy Learning Funds Before Dec. 31

Here’s a simple, fast action plan:

Week	Action	Outcome
Week 1 – Audit your current program	Audit remaining learning budget and eligible employee groups	Understand who can be funded before year-end
Week 1 – Use a simple platform	Create your SkillsWave workspace and invite eligible users	Clear path to match employees with eligible learning, and track investment
Week 2 – Promote internally	Promote learning benefits internally (email, intranet, manager reminders)	Creates awareness and increases demand
Week 2-3 – prioritize high impact skills and programs	Approve programs quickly and prioritize high-impact skills that are tied to performance gaps	Maximize ROI and support strategic skills gaps
Week 2-4 – track spend and enrollment	Track spend + enrollment to ensure dollars are fully utilized, measure early outcomes	Budget closes out cleanly with measurable learning return

If you want to move faster, you can condense this into days instead of weeks. Especially with centralized systems that help automate approvals and reporting.

High-Value Use Cases for Remaining Budget

Even a small leftover budget can deliver outsized impact. Consider funding:

• leadership development for emerging managers
• technical upskilling (AI, data, software skills)
• certifications to support career mobility
• short courses for frontline employees or non-managerial staff
• professional programs tied to talent gaps 

A $5,250 benefit per employee goes further than most people think, especially when targeted strategically.

Don’t Leave Learning Dollars on the Table

The next few weeks are a chance to turn unused budget into real capability. Teams that act now can:

• maximize tax-advantaged education spend (e.g. per employee learning allowance)
• accelerate upskilling and close skills gaps before next year challenges hit
• demonstrate that learning and development are real priorities

While the window is closing, there’s still plenty of time.

Create a Free SkillsWave Workspace Now

Want help deploying unused funds before year-end? 

SkillsWave can make it easy to: 

• roll out learning benefits fast – You can spin up a SkillsWave workspace in minutes 
• manage approvals + budgets centrally – Invite eligible employees and give them visibility 
• track utilization and tax-eligible spend streamline approvals and enrollment tracking (all within the platform)
• drive ROI that has real outcomes

Let’s put your remaining budget to work.