Episode 45 of Retirement Tax Matters walks through a live Holistiplan tax planning case study for a married couple reporting $534,200 in total Adjusted Gross Income who remain inside the 12% ordinary marginal tax bracket. Garrett Crawford, CFP® and Adam Reed demonstrate how $100,000 in Social Security and Pension paired with $400,000 in realized long-term capital gains keeps ordinary income at lower rates. Learn how evaluating cost basis versus realized gains inside taxable brokerage accounts may reveal more room than you think to execute strategic Roth conversions before December 31st.

We have developed a 5-step framework for what tax planning looks like for High-Net-Worth Retirees between $2M-$8M. It walks you through each season of the calendar year and how we implement tax-return driven financial planning for clients. Request a free resource using this link: https://www.retirementtaxmatters.com/checklist

00:00 Back to the Basics: Tax Return Driven Financial Planning
01:08 Can You Earn $500,000 and Stay in the 12% Tax Bracket?
03:40 Ordinary Income vs. Preferential Capital Gains Brackets
05:27 Case Study: Baseline Income for Tim & Ann
07:08 Scenario 1: Generating $500k Entirely from IRA Distributions
09:07 Scenario 2: $500k Income Utilizing Low-Basis Brokerage Capital Gains
12:15 Scenario 3: Realized Capital Gains vs. Account Cost Basis
15:00 Tactical Roth Conversions & Range Calculator Analysis
17:44 Navigating Medicare IRMAA Tiers & Tax Brackets
20:18 Year-to-Year Tax Minimization vs. Lifetime Tax Liability

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