Tax Planning

The worlds of income tax and investing significantly overlap in their effect on your financial objectives. Tax planning for investments and overall tax burden reduction is a highly sought service among middle-class millionaires. We not only provide these services but also bring a higher level of oversight to our client’s overall financial picture. This level of oversight is not typically seen in either the financial or tax industry alone. Without planning done prior to year-end, few ways remain at the tax-filing time for the taxpayer to reduce their tax liability. The goal is to provide the best lifetime outcome given the clients’ unique situation. Most investors don’t fully appreciate the drag on returns taxes cause. Fortunately, there are many effective strategies for maximizing long-term wealth accumulation and conservation.

Our Tax-Focused Services Include

• Tax Bracket Management
• Contributions To Traditional IRAs In High-Income Years
• Contributing To Roth IRAs In Low-Income Years
• Roth IRA Conversions
• Gain And Loss Harvesting

• Deferring Gain Recognition
• Tax-Sensitive Asset Allocation
• Managing Holding Periods
• Tax-Sensitive Management Of The Retirement Portfolio

Tax Preparation

vs.

Tax Planning

There are significant advantages to consider when comparing routine tax preparation with truly tax-optimized planning.

Tax Preparation

Tax preparation happens after the fact and involves sometimes painstaking data-gathering efforts.

The ultimate objective of this annual ritual is to meet the April 15 filing deadline. It is centered around compliance with the tax code in a backward-looking reactionary process. Many tax preparation professionals view their role as one of filing hundreds or even thousands of returns for clients in a short window of time. They have to make the best of the past year’s information their client has provided to them. They simply don’t have the time to develop a tax strategy for all of their client’s investments. This is not to minimize the importance of tax return preparation or the skill necessary to do it correctly. Proper return preparation typically involves many more professional judgment calls than the taxpayer may imagine.

Tax Planning

Tax planning, on the other hand, is forward-looking and proactive.

• Decisions About What Investments to Sell and When
• Converting Tax-Deferred Investment Accounts into Tax-Free Accounts
• Planning for Required Minimum Distributions
• Choosing Which Investments are Best in Which Types of Accounts

A wealth management process is not complete without planning for taxation. A well-thought-out comprehensive strategy can add significant value. A tax-focused wealth planner is uniquely positioned for providing ongoing tax planning.