Does the New $15 Million Exemption Mean You Can Ignore Estate Planning?
The exemption decides whether you owe estate tax – not whether your plan works. See what still needs attention even if your estate is under $15 million.
Tax & Estate Planning
Tips on tax efficiency, estate planning, and legacy preservation.
The Permanent $15 Million Exemption: What the New Estate Tax Law Means for Your Plan
The estate tax exemption did not fall in 2026 – it rose to $15M per person, permanently. See what the new law means for your plan, and why review still matters.
A $3.6 Million IRA and the Ten-Year Window: An Illustrative Roth Conversion Case Study
A hypothetical case study: how a measured Roth conversion turned a $3.6M IRA’s forced-distribution tax into a far larger tax-free legacy. Illustrative.
The Survivor’s Penalty: How Roth Conversions Protect a Surviving Spouse
When a spouse dies, the survivor files as single and the brackets nearly halve. Part Three of a three-part series looks at how Roth conversions made while both spouses are alive can ease the survivor’s penalty.
The Ten-Year Clock: How a Roth Conversion Changes What Your Heirs Actually Keep
The SECURE Act’s ten-year rule can tax an inherited IRA at your heirs’ highest rate. Part Two of a three-part series looks at how a Roth conversion changes what your children actually keep.
The Roth Conversion Window: Reducing Your Own Lifetime Tax Before Your RMDs Decide It For You
Required minimum distributions can keep a large traditional IRA taxed for the rest of your life. Part One of a three-part series looks at how a measured Roth conversion strategy under 2026 tax law may reduce your own lifetime tax.
You Took the NUA Distribution. Now the Question Is When to Sell
The NUA distribution locks in one tax advantage permanently, but the stock keeps moving after it leaves the plan. This final installment covers the one-year holding period on new gains, the concentration risk of holding, and the Medicare IRMAA surcharge that arrives two years after the sale.
Before You Can Use the NUA Strategy, You Need One Number – NUA Cost Basis
The NUA strategy hinges on one number — the cost basis of your employer stock. Most participants have never seen it. This second installment in the series explains exactly what it is, who maintains it, and how to request it before the distribution paperwork arrives.
Your State Tax May Take Back the NUA Savings Your Federal Return Earned
The federal NUA tax break can save retiring executives over $600,000 — but your state may claw much of it back. This first follow-up article maps which states preserve the advantage, which erode it, and the one question worth answering before the distribution becomes irreversible.
The Devastating Tax Mistake Retiring Executives Make With Employer Stock
The strategy is called Net Unrealized Appreciation — NUA — and after 37 years in CPA practice, I continue to