Insights & Resources
Practical guidance for aligning your wealth with what matters most. Updated regularly with fresh perspectives on retirement, tax strategy, and intentional living.
Whole Life vs. Universal Life: Keep, Exchange, or Surrender a Policy
How whole life and universal life insurance work, how a policy is taxed, and how to decide whether to keep, exchange, or surrender one you own.
SLATs After OBBBA: How Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts Work in 2026
How a spousal lifetime access trust works under the permanent $15 million exemption: who still needs one, the basis trade, and Texas funding rules.
How a Business Is Valued for Sale: SDE, EBITDA, Multiples, and Terms
How buyers value a private business: SDE vs. EBITDA, add-backs, what sets the multiple, and how deal terms turn a headline price into cash.
Texas Property Tax at 65: $200,000 Exemption, Tax Freeze, and Deferral
How Texas property tax changes at 65 in 2026: the $200,000 school exemption, the over-65 tax freeze, local freezes, and deferral at 5%.
Annuities Explained by a Fee-Only Planner: Types, Costs, and Taxes
How annuities work in 2026: immediate, deferred, fixed, indexed, and variable contracts, what they cost, how they are taxed, and when one earns a place.
Selling Your Business to an ESOP: How the Section 1042 Rollover Works
How selling to an ESOP works in 2026: the Section 1042 rollover rules, qualified replacement property, the S corporation limit, and what ends the deferral.
Step-Up in Basis at Death: Community Property vs. Common-Law States
How the step-up in basis works at death in 2026: the community property double step-up, the common-law half step-up, what never steps up, and what changes it.
Grandparent 529 Plans in 2026: The New FAFSA Rules and Superfunding
How grandparent 529 plans work in 2026: the FAFSA change, the CSS Profile catch, superfunding up to $190,000, OBBBA's new uses, and the Roth rollover.
Roth Catch-Up Rule 2026: The Box 3 Test and Who Is Exempt
The 2026 Roth catch-up rule for earners over $150,000: how the W-2 Box 3 test works, who it misses, what it costs, and when a Roth catch-up still wins.
The 2026 SALT Cap and the Texas Property Tax Deduction
The 2026 SALT deduction for Texas homeowners: the $40,400 cap, who itemizes, when to pay property tax, and the phase-down above $505,000.
OBBBA Senior Deduction: $6,000, the Phaseout, and Roth Conversions
The $6,000 senior deduction for 2025 through 2028: who qualifies, how the phaseout works, what it does not do for Social Security, and Roth conversions.
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation: How NQDC Elections Work
How NQDC plans work: the deferral election due by year-end, the distribution choice that matters more, the 409A rules, the taxes, and the Texas move.
What Year-Round Tax Planning Actually Looks Like
Year-round tax planning runs on two meetings, February and August. What happens in each window, which documents matter, and what to expect.
Naming a Trust as IRA Beneficiary
When a trust should inherit your IRA, how see-through, conduit, and accumulation trusts work under the 10-year rule, and what trust tax rates cost.
72(t) SEPP vs. the Rule of 55
Two legal ways to tap retirement accounts before 59½ without the 10% penalty: how 72(t) SEPP payments and the rule of 55 actually work, and their traps.
QLACs: The $210,000 RMD Carve-Out
How a QLAC works in 2026: the $210,000 lifetime limit, the RMD carve-out to age 85, what the deferral is really worth, and the trade-offs the brochures skip.
Charitable Remainder Trusts
How a charitable remainder trust works: selling appreciated assets tax-deferred, the CRUT vs. CRAT choice, the four-tier payout rules, and the 2026 changes.
Asset Sale vs. Stock Sale
Asset sale or stock sale? How deal structure decides whether gain is ordinary or capital, taxed once or twice, and why buyer and seller want opposite answers.
Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage
Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage is not an annual choice. One path is easy to leave and hard to re-enter. The 2026 costs, the switching rules, and how to decide.
Opportunity Zones After OBBBA
OBBBA made Opportunity Zones permanent with new rules starting 2027: rolling five-year deferral, a 30% rural step-up, tighter maps, and a 2026 bill coming due.
Depreciation Recapture
How recapture is actually calculated when you sell a rental: the gain layers, the 25% ceiling, installment and 1031 traps, and the one exit that erases it.
The Passive Activity Loss Rules
How Section 469 traps rental losses, how the $25,000 allowance phases out, what real estate professional status requires, and when suspended losses release.
The Short-Term Rental Exception
How the seven-day rule and material participation let short-term rental losses offset W-2 income, why cost segregation pairs with it, and where it goes wrong.
The Backdoor Roth IRA and the Pro-Rata Rule
How the backdoor Roth IRA works in 2026: the two steps, the pro-rata rule that taxes it, the December 31 test, Form 8606, and the cleanup moves.
Installment Sales and Earnouts
How installment sales spread business-sale gain across years: Section 453 mechanics, the $5 million interest charge, earnout taxation, and the traps.
Medicare Enrollment Timing
The Medicare enrollment windows explained: the 7-month IEP, the 8-month special period, lifetime late penalties, and the retroactive Part A trap.
Tax-Loss Harvesting and the Wash Sale Rule
How tax-loss harvesting works: the 61-day wash sale window, the basis adjustment, the IRA trap, and when a harvest costs more than it saves.
Estate Planning Before the Business Sale
Why the estate planning window closes when a buyer names a number, when gifting beats the step-up (and when it doesn't), and the pre-sale toolkit.
TSP Roth In-Plan Conversions
The TSP now allows Roth conversions inside the plan. The mechanics, the two five-year clocks, and how to decide in-plan versus roll-to-IRA.
Owner Compensation Optimization
Above the reasonable-comp floor, your salary sets payroll tax, QBI, and retirement capacity at once. The optimization most owners never run.
Estimated Taxes and the Safe Harbor
The three safe harbors, the four deadlines that aren't quarters, and how the safe harbor decision fits into multi-year tax planning.
Long-Term Care Funding
The three ways to fund long-term care, the tax mechanics that change which dollars should pay, and why doing nothing is also a plan.
The Multi-Year Tax Projection
What a multi-year tax projection actually contains, the two yardsticks it runs on, and why single-year tax optimization quietly loses.
Pension Lump Sum or Annuity
The hurdle rate your lump sum must earn, what inflation does to a fixed pension, and why the plan's funded status belongs in the decision.
The 0% Capital Gains Bracket
How the 0% long-term capital gains bracket works in 2026: the stacking math, tax-gain harvesting mechanics, and the traps that make 'free' gains costly.
Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA)
How NUA works in 2026: the lump-sum rules, triggering events, the basis-to-gain math, and when rolling 401(k) employer stock to an IRA costs you.
ACA Subsidies in Early Retirement
How marketplace premium subsidies work in 2026, what counts toward MAGI, the restored 400% FPL cliff, and how early retirees plan income around it.
Qualified Charitable Distributions
How to execute a QCD correctly: first-dollars-out timing, eligible charities, the one-time $55,000 election, reporting, and the traps that blow the exclusion.
The Roth Conversion Ladder
How the Roth conversion ladder works: five-year clocks, the bridge years, sizing each rung, and the trade-offs early retirees should model.
Inheriting an IRA: The 10-Year Rule
Who gets the 10-year rule, who can still stretch, the annual RMD twist, spousal choices, and how to time inherited IRA withdrawals.
The Roth Five-Year Rules
How the two Roth five-year rules actually work: the contribution clock, the conversion clock, the Roth 401(k) rollover trap, and what changes at 59½.
Solo 401(k) vs. SEP IRA vs. Cash Balance
The plan is an output, not a choice: profit, salary, and QBI position pick it for you. The wage-efficiency math, the QBI layer, and the cash balance window.
How Trump Accounts (530A) Work
Trump Accounts launched July 4, 2026. How the 530A account works: the $1,000 deposit, the $5,000 cap, Form 4547, and the Roth caveats most coverage skips.
The $15 Million Estate Tax Exemption
The exemption is $15 million per person, permanent, and indexed. For most families that changes what estate planning is for: basis, portability, and control.
Turning Your Home Into a Rental
Convert your home to a rental and the $500,000 home-sale exclusion starts a countdown. The three rules, the three-year window, and the rent-vs-sell framework.
The HSA as a Stealth Retirement Account
The HSA is the only account that's untaxed going in, growing, and coming out. The 2026 rules, the receipts strategy, what changes at 65, and its one weakness.
LLC vs. S Corp vs. C Corp
Entity choice is a modeling question, not a threshold question. How the S election actually works, when the C corporation competes, and what OBBBA changed.
The QBI Deduction in 2026
QBI is a deduction you engineer, not one you claim. The 2026 thresholds, the OBBBA changes, the S-corp salary paradox, and how retirement contributions move it.
The Mega Backdoor Roth
Your 401(k) limit isn't $24,500. It's $72,000. How after-tax contributions plus prompt Roth conversion unlock tens of thousands a year of tax-free growth for high earners.
Sequence-of-Returns Risk
Two retirees earn the same average return and retire into opposite outcomes. How sequence-of-returns risk works, why it cuts both ways, and how we manage it.
Charitable Giving in 2026
How to give to charity tax-efficiently in 2026 — donor-advised funds, the bunching strategy, donating appreciated stock, qualified charitable distributions, and what the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's new 0.5% floor means for your giving.
Required Minimum Distributions in 2026
How RMDs work under SECURE 2.0 in 2026 — the age-73/75 rules, the calculation, the taxes a large distribution triggers (IRMAA, Social Security, the widow's penalty), and the planning levers: Roth conversions, QCDs, QLACs, and inherited-IRA rules.
Asset Location
Asset location can quietly add tax alpha without changing your portfolio. How to place investments across taxable, tax-deferred, and Roth accounts in 2026 — and where the rule of thumb breaks.
The Retirement Gap Years
The low-income window between retiring and RMDs is the richest tax-planning opportunity most people miss. How to use the gap years in 2026 — Roth conversions, QCDs, and the guardrails.
Diversifying a Concentrated Stock Position
Holding too much in one stock? How to diversify a concentrated position in 2026 — managing the tax cost without letting the tax tail wag the planning dog.
Retirement Withdrawal Sequencing
The "spend taxable first" rule is only half the answer. How to sequence retirement withdrawals across account types in 2026 to minimize lifetime taxes, not just this year's.
The Social Security Tax Torpedo
Why each extra dollar of retirement income can be taxed at 40%+ — how the Social Security "tax torpedo" works in 2026, who it hits, and how to plan around it.
Financial Planning for Practice Owners
Doctors, dentists, and chiropractors face a tax problem most business owners don't. Here's how practice owners plan around the QBI/SSTB limits in 2026.
When to Hire an Advisor
The right time to hire a financial advisor isn’t about hitting a number — it’s about complexity, irreversible decisions, and the decade where mistakes compound.
Fiduciary vs. Suitability
Fiduciary duty and Regulation Best Interest are different legal standards — and which one your advisor operates under changes whose interests come first.
What Financial Advisors Cost
How financial advisors charge — AUM, flat fee, hourly, and commissions — and the equation that tells you whether advice is worth it: value = benefit − cost.
What Is a Tax Strategist?
What does a tax strategist actually do, and how is that different from a CPA or tax preparer? A plain-English guide to tax strategy, who needs it, and the questions to ask before hiring one.
Bitcoin & Retirement in a Deflationary Economy
Jeff Booth argues technology is deflationary. Here's what that thesis would mean for retirement income planning — and the honest risks of betting on it.
QSBS Under OBBBA
OBBBA expanded the QSBS gain exclusion for stock acquired after July 4, 2025 — a tiered holding period, a $15M cap, and a $75M asset threshold. Here’s how Section 1202 works in 2026 and why the acquisition date now determines everything.
The Widow’s Tax Penalty
When one spouse dies, the survivor often keeps most of the household income but loses half the brackets, half the standard deduction, and faces steeper Medicare surcharges. Here’s the mechanics of the widow’s tax penalty — and the planning window that exists before it hits.
IRMAA in 2026
How Medicare's IRMAA surcharges work in 2026, the income brackets that trigger them, and the multi-year planning moves that keep high-income households from paying more than they must.
Bitcoin Self-Custody for HNW Households
A Kitces-depth guide to Bitcoin self-custody for high-net-worth households — hardware wallets, multisig, collaborative custody, the 1099-DA reporting rules, and the Texas-specific estate considerations most holders overlook.
Cost Segregation Studies
How cost segregation actually works with OBBBA’s 100% bonus depreciation — and when an engineering-based study earns its place in your tax plan, or doesn’t.
When to Claim Social Security
The break-even chart answers one narrow question. Here are five it doesn’t ask — and why those questions matter more for your retirement.
Reasonable Compensation for S-Corp Owners
How S-corp owners can set a defensible reasonable salary under 2026 rules — the payroll tax math, IRS factors, the QBI and retirement plan interactions, court cases, and what to do if you’ve under-paid.
OBBBA Bonus Depreciation Reset
How the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s permanent 100% bonus depreciation reset changes the after-tax math for Texas rental real estate investors — cost segregation, recapture, REPS coordination, and 2026 planning watch-outs.
Buy-Sell Agreements After Connelly
The 2024 Connelly Supreme Court decision quietly changed how closely held businesses must structure buy-sell agreements. A deep dive into what changed, the structures still worth considering, and the broader failure modes business owners need to know.
Roth Conversions Under OBBBA
OBBBA permanently extended the TCJA tax brackets but added new phaseouts and deduction limitations that change the Roth conversion math for 2026. Here's what to watch for and where the opportunities are.
Bitcoin Inheritance Planning
Bitcoin doesn't transfer like a brokerage account. Self-custody, private keys, cost basis documentation, and the step-up in basis all create planning challenges most estate plans don't address. Here's what families need to know.
Social Security for Couples
Social Security claiming for married couples isn't one decision — it's two decisions plus a third about survivor protection. Here are five questions that determine the right strategy for your household.
Business Exit Planning
How business exit planning actually works — the strategy, the 5-year timeline, and the tax and succession decisions that determine what your exit is worth.
Choosing a Financial Advisor
Choosing a financial advisor is one of the most important financial decisions you'll make. Here's what to look for — and what to avoid — when evaluating financial advisors in New Braunfels and the Texas Hill Country.
QBI Deduction Under OBBBA
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the QBI deduction permanent and expanded who qualifies starting in 2026. Here's what Texas business owners need to understand about the new phase-in ranges, the $400 minimum deduction, and how the changes affect pass-through entity planning.
Statement of Financial Purpose
A Statement of Financial Purpose is the foundation of intentional financial planning — the single sentence that captures what your money is for. Here's what it is, why it matters, and how to write your own.
How Much to Retire?
Why “how much do I need to retire” is the wrong starting question — and what to ask instead under 2026 rules.
What Fee-Only Planners Do
How fee-only fiduciary planners differ from commission-based advisors and why the model matters for complex financial decisions.
Estate Planning Basics
Why a will alone isn’t sufficient. Trusts, beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, and 2026 OBBBA estate tax rules.
Bitcoin in a Financial Plan
Tax treatment, allocation thinking, custody options, and how Bitcoin interacts with the rest of a comprehensive financial plan.
Lifestyle Creep
What lifestyle creep is, how it erodes wealth over time, and why high-income earners are the most susceptible.
Stock Compensation 101
A plain-English guide to the most common types of stock compensation. How each one works and how each one is taxed under 2026 rules.
When Should Physicians Start?
A guide for physicians on when to start working with a financial planner — from residency through attending years under 2026 rules.
Open Enrollment Mistakes
The most common open enrollment mistakes — from choosing the wrong health plan to underutilizing HSAs, DCFSAs, and retirement accounts under 2026 limits.
TRS vs ORP
Choosing between the Teacher Retirement System pension and the Optional Retirement Program. How each works under current rules and key trade-offs.
TSP Rollover Strategies
A guide to TSP rollover options for military families in San Antonio. When to roll over, when to stay, and how to coordinate your TSP with your broader financial plan.
Roth Conversions for Tech
How Austin tech professionals with equity compensation can use Roth conversions strategically to reduce their lifetime tax burden.
1031 Exchange Strategies
How Hill Country land owners can use 1031 exchanges to defer capital gains, upgrade properties, and build long-term wealth through real estate.
Moving to Texas Checklist
A financial planning checklist for families relocating to Texas from California or other high-tax states. Tax changes, real estate decisions, and what to do first.
Retirement in the Hill Country
What makes retirement planning in the Hill Country unique — from land ownership and property taxes to estate planning for multigenerational families.
The Hidden Cost of Money
Why does money feel harder to manage today? Explore how inflation, declining purchasing power, and broken incentives quietly shape your financial life.
Taking Action
Why do so many people plan but never follow through? Learn how small, consistent actions compound into radical results.
Money & Your Children
How do you talk to your kids about money without making it awkward, stressful, or accidentally teaching them the wrong lessons?
Making Decisions
What if the hardest part of making a good decision isn’t the decision itself — but realizing there’s a decision to be made?
Money in Marriage
Money is one of the leading causes of divorce. But it’s not the money itself that destroys marriages. It’s the conversations couples never have about it.
Money Before Marriage
Nobody wants to turn a date into a financial audit. But roughly 60% of married people say they wish they’d talked about money before tying the knot.
What Is Money?
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what money actually is? If you’re going to make good decisions with your money, it helps to start with a clear understanding of what it is and what role it should play in your life.