Tax Planning

Most people assume taxes are something you deal with in April. But the decisions that determine your tax bill are made year-round — in how your portfolio is structured, when you draw from which accounts, and how your retirement income is sequenced. We work with clients across Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, Mesa, Queen Creek, and Scottsdale to make those decisions with tax efficiency in mind, not as an afterthought.

What Tax-Efficient Investing Actually Looks Like

Tax planning as a financial advisor means thinking carefully about where assets live and how they're withdrawn — two areas where the right strategy can make a meaningful difference in what you keep.

 

Asset location is the practice of placing investments in the account types best suited to their tax treatment. A bond fund generating regular taxable income, for example, is often better held in a tax-deferred account than in a taxable brokerage account. Growth-oriented assets may be more appropriate in a Roth. These decisions don't change what you own — they change how efficiently you own it.

 

Tax-efficient withdrawal sequencing addresses the order in which you draw down accounts in retirement. Pulling from the wrong bucket at the wrong time can push you into a higher bracket, trigger Medicare surcharges, or reduce the long-term value of tax-advantaged accounts. A thoughtful sequence, built around your specific income needs and timeline, gives you more control over your tax bracket year to year.

 

Both strategies are part of how we approach investment planning for every client — not add-ons you have to ask for.

Your Advisor and Your CPA, Finally on the Same Page

One of the most common frustrations we hear from new clients is that their financial advisor and their accountant operate in separate silos. One manages the portfolio. The other files the return. Nobody is connecting the dots between the two.

 

We work to close that gap. When tax-relevant decisions come up — Roth conversions, required minimum distributions, capital gains harvesting, retirement income timing — we coordinate directly with your CPA so the strategy your advisor is executing aligns with what your accountant is planning for. That kind of coordination doesn't happen automatically. It has to be built into how a firm works.

 

This collaborative approach reflects something we've held to since 1979: good financial planning isn't a collection of isolated services. It's an integrated picture, and tax efficiency is one of the most important threads running through it.

Retirement Tax Planning: See the Impact Before You Retire

The years just before and just after retirement are often the highest-leverage window for tax planning. Income tends to shift, account balances are at their peak, and the decisions you make in this period can affect your tax situation for decades.

 

We help clients think through questions like:

 

  • How will Social Security benefits interact with other retirement income sources?
  • Does a Roth conversion make sense before required minimum distributions begin?
  • What's the most tax-efficient way to sequence withdrawals from taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts?
  • How can we structure retirement income to avoid bracket creep or Medicare premium surcharges?

 

These aren't one-time calculations. They're ongoing planning decisions that we revisit as your income, tax law, and circumstances change. If you're within ten years of retirement — or already there — this kind of proactive planning is worth having on your side.

ANSWERS before we begin

Frequently Asked Questions About Tax Planning

  • Do you prepare or file tax returns?

    No — we're not CPAs and we don't prepare or file returns. What we do is make the investment and retirement planning decisions that directly affect your tax bill, and coordinate with your CPA so everyone is working from the same strategy.

  • How is tax planning different from tax preparation?

    Tax preparation is looking back at what happened. Tax planning is looking forward and making decisions — about account withdrawals, Roth conversions, asset location, and income timing — that reduce what you'll owe before the year is over.

  • When should I start thinking about tax planning?

    The earlier the better, but the years just before and just after retirement are especially high-leverage. That's when income shifts, account balances are at their peak, and the right sequencing decisions can have a lasting impact on your tax picture.

  • What is a Roth conversion and should I consider one?

    A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth account, paying taxes now in exchange for tax-free growth and withdrawals later. Whether it makes sense depends on your current tax bracket, expected future income, and when required minimum distributions will kick in — something we work through with you directly.

  • Do I need a high income or large portfolio to benefit from tax planning?

    Not at all. Tax-efficient strategies like asset location, Roth contributions, and thoughtful withdrawal sequencing can benefit clients at a wide range of income and asset levels. We work with clients wherever they are financially, not just those with large portfolios.