Although we do not provide tax advice, as a part of a comprehensive financial approach we offer tax planning strategies while working closely with your CPA or tax consultant. By looking at your prior year’s return and paystub, we can spot efficiencies which may provide you with extra money to invest, pay down debt and/or save for retirement. We also identify when tactics like tax-loss harvesting may be useful to you in managing the impact of taxes on your financial efforts, and free up cash you otherwise would not have had.
Some people are surprised to find that they owe taxes in retirement; some even pay taxes on Social Security! That’s why tax planning is imperative for the retiree, especially in the years leading up to retirement, when it may be possible to use Roth conversions, essentially paying taxes during low-income years to mitigate income taxes later. When it comes to qualified retirement money in accounts like 401(k)s and traditional IRAs, RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions) come into play yearly starting at age 72. You have to start taking money out of these accounts following strict guidelines, and that has tax implications which we plan for.