Tax Strategies

Taxes, unlike markets or inflation, are something that we can control. Planning to reduce taxes is an essential piece of your overall financial plan, but taxes can be complex. Each year millions of people overpay in taxes without even knowing it. Our financial planning process pays particular attention to income taxes, capital gains taxes and more. Helping you lessen your tax burden means more for you and your family to enjoy.

Tax Strategy

We’ll work with you to develop a tax-efficient investment strategy in order to manage your taxes now and build more flexibility in retirement. Your money can be held in three different types of accounts: tax-deferred, taxable and pre-tax. They each have very different tax treatments. Our planning process is designed to incorporate tax diversification between these three account types with the aim of creating the highest net-spendable income for you in retirement. Knowing the rules and implementing a forward-looking tax strategy can make a huge difference in the enjoyment of your wealth.

Roth Conversion Strategies

Most folks have the majority of their retirement assets in tax-deferred accounts that are subject to ordinary income tax. We factor taxes into your retirement planning and recommend strategies as appropriate to shift assets using Roth conversions. This strategy is important because Roth IRA holders have more control over taxes in retirement. With a Roth conversion, you pay the taxes on the amount you convert, which allows future growth and income to be tax free. Our financial planning technology includes detailed tax projections to help determine how much money you could convert to a Roth IRA over a period of time in order to control your tax bracket long-term and potentially get better value from your investments.

Tax-Loss Harvesting

Tax-Loss Harvesting is a strategy that we may use to turn money lost from within taxable investments into a profitable opportunity. It uses the capital losses that occur to reduce your tax bill. You don’t truly have a gain or a loss on any asset until you sell it. When the asset is sold you are able to use that capital loss to offset your capital gains. The investment can then be replaced, or harvested, with a similar investment in order to maintain proper balance and diversification within your portfolio.

Advanced Wealth Strategies and Business Planning

We partner with the Advanced Planning Group, a nationally recognized team of professionals, with specialized training in law, taxation, accounting, business, insurance, finance, and philanthropic planning. They support us in delivering a variety of wealth strategies and business planning objectives to help you in these key areas:

• Business succession planning

• Buy-sell agreements

• Key person insurance

• Nonqualified executive benefit strategies

• Wealth transfer and distribution strategies

• Estate tax mitigation

• Charitable planning

A Roth IRA conversion—sometimes called a backdoor Roth strategy—is a way to contribute to a Roth IRA when income exceeds standard limits. The converted amount is treated as taxable income and may affect your tax bracket. Federal, state, and local taxes may apply. If you’re required to take a minimum distribution in the year of conversion, it must be completed before converting. To qualify for tax-free withdrawals, you must generally be age 59½ and hold the converted funds in the Roth IRA for at least five years. Each conversion has its own five-year period, and early withdrawals may be subject to a 10% penalty unless an exception applies. Income limits still apply for future direct Roth IRA contributions.

This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or investment advice. Please consult a qualified tax professional regarding your individual circumstances.