BW Tax Strategies

The process

Planning is a straight line only in hindsight.

We start with where you actually are — and how each dollar you own is taxed today — not where a plan was supposed to be.

Every dollar you own

sits in one of three buckets.

And the bucket, not the balance, decides what it costs you to use the money. Seeing your own split is where planning begins.

  • Taxable

    Invested with after-tax dollars.

    You pay along the way — on interest, dividends and capital gains — whether or not you spend it.

  • Tax deferred

    Lowers your taxable income now.

    401(k)s and traditional IRAs. Taxed as ordinary income when it comes out, at whatever bracket you are in then.

  • Tax free

    After-tax in, nothing out.

    Roth accounts. Invested with after-tax dollars, grows tax-deferred, and qualified withdrawals are untaxed.

Most people have never been shown their own split. Working out what it is, and what it should be, is where a tax plan starts.

How the work runs

Discovery

We look at where you actually are.

We start with your recent returns, your income sources, and how each of your accounts is taxed today — taxable, tax-deferred, tax-free. Not what the plan was supposed to be. What it is right now.

The three buckets

We sort what you have by how it is taxed.

Taxable money is invested with after-tax dollars and you pay on interest, dividends and gains. Tax-deferred lowers your taxable income now and is taxed as ordinary income later. Tax-free is invested with after-tax dollars, grows deferred, and comes out untaxed. Most people have never seen their own split.

The strategy

We write the plan, forward from here.

Bracket management, conversion timing, IRMAA thresholds, entity and compensation choices for owners, cost segregation for real estate. Each piece is chosen against the others, because the expensive mistakes almost always happen where two decisions meet.

Filing

We prepare the return the plan intended.

The same advisor who built the strategy prepares the return, so nothing gets filed that undoes it — and if the IRS is already involved, the resolution runs on the same desk.

Ongoing

We stay in it, because the code and your life both change.

Tax law moves, and so do you — a sale, a move, a new property, a change in income. With regular review the plan adjusts before the year closes rather than after, which is the only time changing it is worth anything.

Important disclosures

This information is general and is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. Discuss your specific situation with a qualified tax advisor.

Tax preparation and tax planning services are offered through BW Tax Strategies. Securities and advisory services are offered separately through BW Wealth Management and LPL Financial. BW Tax Strategies and LPL Financial are separate entities.

Next step

Start with a conversation, not a pitch.

An initial conversation, at no cost and no obligation. We look at what you have and how it is currently taxed before anyone recommends moving anything.

Book a conversation(480) 868-9102

Scottsdale and the greater Phoenix valley · Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm