Tax Strategy & Tax Planning

Tax planning is the cornerstone of McBeath Financial Group’s custom tailored, tax-efficient financial plans to help our clients reach their goals.

Perhaps the most impactful piece of our wealth management process is centered around comprehensive tax strategy planning. We start by assessing your present and future tax obligations and devising strategies to reduce taxes in retirement. Our expertise truly shines when we uncover opportunities to preserve and transfer wealth to heirs or charities using tax-efficient financial planning, our clients achieve retirement goals and leave a lasting legacy.

The Key to Navigating Taxation Through the 3 Stages of Life

Effective tax management involves determining the most favorable time to pay taxes on income and investments. While most are familiar with micro-tax strategies that minimize taxes in the current tax year, a more comprehensive approach involves macro and extended tax strategies. These strategies evaluate long-term tax burdens throughout one's lifetime as wealth is passed to heirs or charities. As tax planners, our goal is to assist clients in identifying the most advantageous life stage to bear the tax burden on income and assets.

Micro Taxation, The Employee Stage – During our earning years, we often focus on reducing our income taxes for each year.  We diligently pursue any possible deductions and tax credits available.  We also contribute to our 401Ks or IRAs, which defers taxes on that income and growth until retirement.

Macro Taxation, The Retirement Stage – During retirement, taxes may have an even more significant impact than they do in working years. Especially when considering more factors that come into play with retirement account withdrawals, required minimum distributions, social security, and Medicare premiums.

A macro-tax strategy focuses on the lifetime impact of taxes and protecting income and asset growth in retirement. One popular method is converting IRAs or 401Ks into Roth IRAs, which can significantly reduce the overall lifetime tax burden for clients and their heirs.

Extended Taxation, Wealth Transfer Stage – Depending on the state and the size of the estate, those without a tax plan could have over half their assets going towards taxes before it reaches their heirs.  We already know a number of recent tax changes and new proposals are threatening to dramatically reduce assets passed along.

Those wishing to pass wealth to their family will find an extended tax strategy necessary to protect assets as they are passed from generation to generation.

Comprehensive Taxation Strategy – A comprehensive tax plan involves evaluating an individual's financial picture and projecting across all three stages to best meet their goals.

A holistic approach to tax planning is critical when working with high-net-worth individuals.  Such long-term strategies often benefit from a team of advisors from different areas of expertise collaborating on the client's behalf.

A Holistic Wealth Management Approach

Every individual has a unique situation, and every piece of their financial position impacts the entire financial picture.  As such, no individual investment, transaction, or financial strategy can exist in a bubble but must fit as part of the long-term plan to achieve goals.  A complete financial plan must include income distribution planning, Social Security filing options, tax strategies, increased healthcare costs, inflation adjustments, and estate legacy planning.  Each of these individual items is inseparable from the others in how they impact the overall financial picture. Therefore, a comprehensive financial plan's recommendations are often complex and strategically balanced, integrating all financial components, including taxes, towards an efficient wealth management strategy.