One of the most valuable things wealthy boomers can do to protect their wealth is tax planning. Here’s some tax planning strategies to consider in your financial plan:
- Roth Conversions: Convert traditional IRAs or 401(k)s into Roth IRAs over time. While you’ll pay taxes on the converted amount, Roth IRA withdrawals in retirement are tax-free, which can reduce your future tax burden.
- Tax-Efficient Withdrawal Strategy: Plan how you’ll withdraw money from various retirement accounts (e.g., traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, taxable accounts). Aim to minimize the tax impact by strategically choosing which accounts to tap into each year.
- Asset Location: Allocate your investments wisely between taxable and tax-advantaged accounts. For example, place tax-inefficient investments (like bonds) in tax-advantaged accounts and tax-efficient investments (like stocks) in taxable accounts.
- Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): If you’re charitably inclined, consider making charitable donations directly from your IRA using QCDs. This can satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) and lower your taxable income.
- Tax-Efficient Investments: Invest in tax-efficient funds or individual stocks that generate lower levels of taxable income, such as index funds and ETFs.
- Tax-Loss Harvesting: Offset capital gains by selling investments that have declined in value, thus realizing capital losses that can offset gains.
- Minimize Medicare IRMAA Surcharges: Be aware of how your income affects Medicare premiums. There are some strategies that can help reduce the impact of IRMAA.
- Estate Planning: Implement effective estate planning strategies, such as gifting assets to heirs over time to take advantage of gift tax exclusions and reduce your taxable estate.
- 529 Plans: Use 529 college savings plans for education expenses. They offer tax-free growth and withdrawals when used for qualified education expenses.
- Health Savings Account (HSA): If eligible, contribute to an HSA, which provides a triple tax advantage – tax-deductible contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses.
- Long-Term Care Insurance: Consider long-term care insurance to protect assets from potential long-term care expenses while keeping premiums tax-deductible.
- Real Estate Strategies: Explore tax-efficient real estate investment options, such as real estate investment trusts (REITs) or like-kind exchanges (1031 exchanges).
- Use Tax Credits: Take advantage of available tax credits for retirees, such as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit (Saver’s Credit) or any state-specific tax credits.
If you’d like to chat with a retirement tax planning specialist, reach out to us at: retire@herretirement.com.