Roth conversions, RMDs, IRMAA, state moves, and other levers that change how much of your money you keep.
Featured picks for tax and withdrawal planning.
Apr 15, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 11 min read
A Roth conversion ladder converts pre-tax retirement money to Roth over multiple years — reducing future RMDs, minimizing lifetime taxes, and building a reservoir of tax-free income.
Mar 4, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 10 min read
Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts add hundreds — sometimes thousands — of dollars per year to your Medicare premiums. Here's how they work and how to plan around them.
Apr 28, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 10 min read
Retirement income is taxed very differently across states — some exempt Social Security entirely, others tax all income. Moving in retirement can save tens of thousands of dollars. Here's how to evaluate the tradeoffs.
Ladders, bracket stacking, and the IRMAA / ACA cliffs that shape conversion windows.
May 19, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 13 min read
How high earners who are phased out of direct Roth IRA contributions can still build Roth wealth — through the two-step backdoor IRA conversion and the after-tax 401(k) mega backdoor strategy — including the pro-rata trap, 2026 contribution limits, and plan requirements.
May 19, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 12 min read
How provisional income determines how much of your Social Security benefit is taxable, the exact calculation steps, and proven strategies to reduce your taxable inclusion.
May 19, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 12 min read
How retirees use tax-loss harvesting in taxable accounts to offset capital gains, reduce ordinary income by up to $3,000 per year, carry losses forward indefinitely, and coordinate with Roth conversions and the 0% LTCG bracket — plus the wash-sale traps that destroy the benefit.
May 6, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 11 min read
How to combine your annual Roth conversion and full-year tax payment into a single December IRA distribution, skipping quarterly payments and earning interest all year.
Required minimum distributions, QLACs, QCDs, and inherited account rules.
May 19, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 12 min read
How a QCD transfers IRA funds directly to charity without ever touching your AGI — satisfying your RMD while lowering your bracket, protecting IRMAA tiers, reducing Social Security taxation, and preserving Roth conversion room simultaneously.
May 4, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 11 min read
When both spouses have IRAs, RMDs don't combine — they compound. Here's how to calculate, coordinate, and minimize required distributions across two accounts, two ages, and a survivor scenario.
Mar 21, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 10 min read
RMDs can dominate your tax picture in your 70s. Here is how pre-RMD Roth conversions, QCDs, QLACs, and account aggregation rules change the trajectory.
Mar 18, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 9 min read
A Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC) lets you use a portion of your IRA to guarantee income starting at 80 or 85 — while reducing your RMDs in the meantime. Here's how it works.
Two-year MAGI lookback, Medicare premium tiers, and avoidance strategies.
Jun 1, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 8 min read
MAGI drives ACA subsidies, Medicare IRMAA surcharges, and Roth IRA rules — but it is not the same as how much you spend in retirement, and it is not even one single number. Three programs use MAGI, three programs define it differently, and the gap between what you spend and what the IRS counts as income can be enormous in a well-structured retirement. This guide explains all three definitions, the thresholds that matter, why a $0 MAGI year while spending $140,000 is not a bug, and how to read the ModernRetire Tax Plan table when MAGI looks surprising.
May 19, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 13 min read
How the NUA tax strategy lets employees with appreciated employer stock in a 401(k) pay long-term capital gains rates instead of ordinary income on most of their balance — and when it actually makes sense to use it.
Mar 4, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 10 min read
Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts add hundreds — sometimes thousands — of dollars per year to your Medicare premiums. Here's how they work and how to plan around them.
Solo 401(k), SEP-IRA, SIMPLE, and cash-balance plans for the self-employed.
Account-type primers and withdrawal-order playbooks across taxable, deferred, and Roth.
Apr 18, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 10 min read
Taxable-first rules are a starting point, not a law. Here is when to spend IRA early, when Roth should wait, and how ACA years rewrite the playbook.
Jan 14, 2026 · Tax & Withdrawals · 10 min read
The three-bucket framework every retirement plan rests on: what each account type is for, how RMDs and basis work, and how asset location changes after-tax outcomes.
Multi-state retirement, residency rules, and state taxation of pensions and Social Security.
Triple-tax-advantaged accounts in retirement.
Audits, taxpayer rights, and resolving notices.
Articles that don't fit a single bucket.