Tax Smart Planning & Investing

Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, qualified plans such as 401(k) plans, and non-qualified (after-tax) accounts can all be utilized to build a retirement portfolio, and each have different potential tax benefits.  While you are preparing and saving for retirement, we assess your situation to determine which funding vehicles you have available to use and the tax ramifications of each. Steering contributions to accounts that will give you flexibility from a tax-efficiency standpoint in the distribution phase of retirement can be just as important as the current tax savings a contribution may provide.  Creating a tax-smart investment retirement plan is about identifying the trade-offs between the potential tax savings of today with the tax savings of tomorrow and determining what combination makes sense for you in light of your goals.

Where applicable, we structure and review your portfolio on an ongoing basis keeping tax efficiency in mind. When constructing your portfolio, we will generally place the securities with the least desirable tax attributes (high dividend payers, ordinary income producers, etc.) in accounts where income is sheltered from income taxes each year, and securities with favorable tax attributes (low dividend payers, long-term capital gain producing securities, etc.) in accounts with no current tax protection. By being strategic in our asset placement and asset allocation at the account level, we focus on improving the tax-efficiency of your overall portfolio. As part of our ongoing maintenance of your accounts, we strive to minimize taxable gains and income where possible, including preparing a year-end gain/loss harvesting analysis.

In the distribution phase of retirement, we assess your cash flow goals and help you determine how your objectives will be funded from your various types of accounts.  Depending on the type of account, the taxation of a distribution can vary as widely as being tax-free to being taxed at your highest ordinary marginal tax bracket.  With a detailed ordinary tax analysis, we can develop a tax-smart distribution plan for you, providing you with the funds to cover your cash flow goals while not unduly burdening you with taxes.