Tax Planning

In terms of wealth management, our primary goal is to help you achieve your retirement or accumulation goals. In so doing, we undertake tax planning.

Tax planning considers the implications of individual, investment, and business decisions, usually with the goal of minimizing tax liability. While decisions are rarely made based solely on their taxable impact, we are always cognizant of the income, capital gains, estate, and business tax issues involved in any particular situation.

Attention to taxes often influences the timing of investment purchases and sales, and this can have a great influence on estate planning. We undertake gift and estate tax planning, life event planning, business tax planning, income tax planning, and investment tax planning. The taxable consequences of any action we take are carefully weighed.

While financial professionals can perform many functions of the tax planning process, there are some activities that must be performed by an accountant or a CPA. We may work closely with a taxation specialist to focus on your tax planning.

Tax planning is a critical component of wealth management, and a good taxation strategy will be well-coordinated with your overall plans for business, investments, risk management, estate, and retirement.

Tax planning considers the tax implications of individual, investment, or business decisions. Whether we personally counsel you on each of these areas or partner with a tax specialist such as a CPA to deliver your solutions, you can rely on us to work in your best interests. Because of its complexity, we have divided this topic into five main kinds of planning:

Income Tax Planning: One goal of tax planning is minimizing deferral income tax liability. Some strategies for this include reducing taxable income through income deferral or shifting, proper deduction planning, investment tax planning, and year-end planning.
Investment Tax Planning: Investment tax planning involves evaluating how to best position assets in order to minimize ongoing tax payments. This requires year-round planning, and it begins with an in-depth understanding of the tax implications of various investments and investment strategies.
Gift and Estate Tax Planning: If you give away wealth, during life or at death, you may incur deferral taxes—and possible additional state taxes. These taxes include gift, estate, income, and inheritance taxes. We can help protect the assets you transfer from excessive depletion by understanding these taxes and the various strategies you can use to minimize them.
Business Tax Planning: Tax issues are never far from the mind of the business owner, and it's likely that many of the decisions you make will be tax-based. It starts with the formation of your business and continues through the sale. Your choice of business entity, how you pay out profits to the owners, and your accounting decisions will all have an effect on your tax liability.
Life Event Tax Planning: Some events in life, including retirement, marriage, or higher education enrollment, come with tax considerations. Life event planning focuses on the financial impact of significant events of your life and on any financial plan you may have in place. We work with you to help determine the best way to report (for tax purposes), spend, and save for these events. All the pieces and events that compose your life are important factors that can greatly affect your financial situation. As things change, we will help you find different ways to protect your assets.

Taxation planning is the way we work to keep more of your assets with the person who worked hardest for them—you!

This material has been provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute either tax or legal advice. Although we go to great lengths to make sure our information is accurate and useful, we recommend you consult a tax preparer, professional tax advisor, or lawyer.