Roth conversion analysis
We assess whether converting in your lower-income years can save you, and your heirs, significant taxes later.
Every dollar you keep is one you didn't have to earn.
Year-round tax planning that coordinates with your CPA. Done before April, not patched together after.
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What is tax planning?
Tax planning is the forward-looking work of legally reducing the taxes you'll pay over your lifetime, not just filing what already happened. In retirement it focuses on Roth conversions, the order you withdraw from accounts, charitable strategies, and timing income to keep more of what you've saved across decades.
Most people meet with someone once a year to file their taxes. That's tax preparation, and it looks backward. Tax planning looks forward, across decades, to legally keep more of what you've saved. In retirement, the difference is enormous.
If you’re asking
- Am I leaving money on the table every year without realizing it?
- Should I be doing Roth conversions, and if so, when?
- How do I avoid a tax surprise when RMDs start?
- How do I give to charity in the most tax-efficient way?
How I help
What tax planning includes.
Withdrawal sequencing
The order you draw from accounts changes your lifetime tax bill. We plan it deliberately.
Charitable giving
Qualified charitable distributions and other strategies that let you give more while paying less.
CPA coordination
I work alongside your CPA. I don't prepare your return, I make sure the planning behind it is sound, all year long.
Tax planning vs. tax preparation
| Tax preparation | Tax planning | |
|---|---|---|
| Time frame | Looks backward at last year | Looks forward across decades |
| When it happens | Once a year, at filing | Year-round and multi-year |
| The goal | File accurately and on time | Lower your lifetime tax bill |
| Who handles it | Your CPA or preparer | Your planner, with your CPA |
How I approach it
Tax planning isn't a December scramble. It's a multi-year discipline. The years between when you retire and when required minimum distributions begin at 73 are often the lowest-tax years of your life, and the single biggest planning opportunity most people never use.
Why it matters
Waste those low-tax years and the cost isn't a one-time mistake. Higher required withdrawals, more of your Social Security taxed, and a larger bill for your heirs. It compounds across every year of retirement, and onto whatever you leave behind.
The numbers that matter.
73
the age RMDs begin, forcing taxable income from pre-tax accounts.
Source: IRS, SECURE 2.0 Act (2022)
Up to 85%
of your Social Security benefit can be taxable depending on income.
Source: IRS / Social Security Administration
Frequently asked questions.
- Do you prepare my tax return?
- No. I coordinate with your CPA or tax preparer. They handle filing, I handle the forward-looking strategy so the two actually line up.
- When is the best time to start tax planning?
- Before you retire, ideally. The pre-RMD years are the highest-opportunity window, and they don't come back.
- I already have a CPA. Why do I need this too?
- Your CPA files what already happened. Tax planning shapes what happens next, the conversions, the withdrawal order, the timing, so that when your CPA files, the bill is already as low as it can be. The two work together.
- Is tax planning only worth it if I'm wealthy?
- No. Some of the biggest opportunities, like Roth conversions in your lower-income years, matter most for everyday retirees, not just the wealthy.
Written by Ryan Langan, CFP®
Founder of Your Path Fi, a fee-only fiduciary firm. Last reviewed May 2026.
It all connects.
None of this lives in isolation. Here’s what tends to come up alongside it.
Let’s talk about your tax planning.
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