Tax Planning

Our tax planning services help individuals and businesses reduce their tax burden by strategically coordinating their investment and retirement portfolios. By considering each client’s unique tax circumstances, we aim to structure portfolios in the most tax-efficient way possible.

We also address potential capital gain and loss scenarios and provide guidance on how Social Security benefits are taxed alongside other forms of income. To ensure every piece works seamlessly, we collaborate directly with your tax professionals so planning, reporting, and execution remain aligned and efficient.

Our goal is to deliver comprehensive, coordinated tax planning that optimizes your overall financial picture.

Updates For 2025

Increased Retirement Plan Contribution

Plan Participants can increase their 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457 plans, and the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan contribution by $1,000, as the maximum elective deferral for retirement plans increases to $24,500

Annual Gift Exclusion Increase

The increase in the annual gift exclusion will remain at $19,000
529 Plans: The maximum contribution to 529 plans for front-loading five years' worth of gifts will remain at $95,000

Catch-Up Contributions

Individuals between the ages of 60 and 63 who participate in retirement plans such as 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans can increase their catch-up contribution remains at $11,250

PDF Preview

If you're on a mobile device, click here to view:

What is Tax Planning?

Tax planning involves reviewing your tax return to uncover opportunities—both immediate and long-term—that can help minimize your total tax burden over your lifetime.

Why Tax Planning Matters

We include annual tax planning as part of our comprehensive financial planning service. Although it’s often overlooked, strategic tax planning is one of the most impactful pieces of a well-rounded financial plan, and we’re proud to provide this valuable service.

Why Is Tax Planning Important?

Taxes affect every part of your financial life. Your tax return acts as a financial fingerprint—specific to you and filled with valuable insights, hidden within pages of data and numbers. Gaining a clear understanding of your return allows us to have deeper, more actionable conversations about your financial goals.

What Kinds of Opportunities Might Be Identified?

We'll explore areas such as tax-efficient retirement vehicles, charitable giving strategies, realizing capital gains, Roth IRA conversions, eligibility for tax credits, and more. We can also run projections to help you understand how potential changes could affect your future tax liability.

Who Is Tax Planning For?

Everyone! Regardless of your income sources or filing status, nearly anyone who pays income taxes can benefit from having a professional review of their tax return to identify relevant planning opportunities.

What Do We Need From You?

An electronic PDF copy of your most recent tax return. We will utilize our tax planning software, Holistiplan, to analyze the details and generate a clear summary of key insights. From there, we’ll outline personalized next steps to help you take advantage of tax planning opportunities

Required Minimum Distributions

One benefit of traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and 401(k)s is their tax deferred nature.

Growth

Tax-deferred: no tax on gains, interest & dividends while assets are in the account

Contributions

Typically pre-tax

Withdrawals

Typically taxed as ordinary income at the taxpayer's marginal rate

Tax Deferral Doesn't Last Forever

Account owners must begin taking a minimum withdrawal known as a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) at a certain age. Like other withdrawals from a traditional IRA or 401(k), RMDs are taxed as ordinary income based on the individual's marginal tax rate.

When do RMDs start?

For many years, Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) began in the year an individual turned 70½. However, this changed with the implementation of the SECURE Act and later the SECURE 2.0 Act, which pushed the starting age further out.

If someone is still employed when they reach RMD age, they might be able to delay RMDs from their current employer’s 401(k), but this exception does not apply to IRAs—they’ll still be required to take RMDs from those accounts. RMDs must continue annually for the rest of the account owner's life.

How Are RMD's Calculated?

The RMD is determined by taking the account balance as of December 31st of the previous year and dividing it by a factor from an IRS table, which corresponds to the account owner’s age in the year the distribution is taken.

What If an RMD Is Not Taken?

Before the SECURE 2.0 Act was enacted, account owners who missed an RMD faced a steep 50% penalty on the amount they failed to withdraw. Starting in 2023, the SECURE 2.0 Act lowered that penalty to 25%. If the missed distribution is corrected promptly and an amended tax return is filed in a timely manner, the penalty can be further reduced to 10%.