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Tax Planning Isn't Just About April 15th

Tax planning doesn’t just show you what to do this year, it shows you how the decisions you make today will impact you tomorrow.

Build a tax plan today

“The difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.” – Will Rogers

What's the Difference Between Tax Preparation & Tax Planning?

Tax Preparation is Reactive

• Focuses on what happened last year
• Files returns after decisions are made
• Responds to your tax situation
• Optimizes for this April
• Works in isolation from your financial plan

Tax Planning is Proactive

• Focuses on the next 10–30 years
• Shapes decisions before they’re made
• Designs your tax situation intentionally
• Optimizes for your lifetime
• Fully integrated with every financial decision

What Does Tax Planning Look Like?

It brings efficiency to your entire financial picture by:

  • Coordinating withdrawals
  • Planning multi-year Roth conversions
  • Managing capital gains, tax-loss harvesting, and asset location
  • Navigating IRMAA brackets and Medicare tax triggers
  • Managing charitable giving
  • Designing strategies to manage, reduce or possibly eliminate Required Minimum Distributions

We want to make your CPA more effective.

Every professional involved in helping guide you has to be on the same page. We work directly with your CPA to make sure they have a clear understanding of what we are doing and more importantly, why we’re doing it. You won’t be left acting as the go-between.  

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ASSET LOCATION

Tax planning is not about short-term savings. It’s about a long-term approach.

Every portfolio involves asset allocation, but asset location is what takes all of your investments and places them in the most tax-favorable account.  Your IRA, Roth, Non-Qualified, and Trust accounts should be managed to keep your lifetime tax bill as low as possible.

Tax Strategies That Should Be Discussed With Every Client

  • Tax Loss Harvesting
  • Donor Advised Funds
  • Charitable Bunching
  • Tactical Roth Conversions
  • Mega Roth (Backdoor) Contributions
  • Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)
  • Lifetime Tax Bracket Management
  • HSA Maximization
  • Minimizing Medicare Surcharges
  • Gifting Highly Appreciated Assets
  • Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs)
  • Irrevocable Trusts

(Not every strategy is right for every situation, but your advisor should know all of them and apply the ones that help you most.)

RetireRight™
Income Planning