No. Adair & Associates does not prepare or file tax returns, and we do not provide tax advice. We do tax planning, which means looking ahead at how the decisions in your financial plan are likely to be taxed and coordinating with the CPA, enrolled agent, or tax preparer who files for you. If you do not have one, we are glad to help you find one.

Tax preparation looks backward. It reports and files what already happened during a calendar year. Tax planning looks forward, shaping decisions while the year is still in progress and the outcome can still change. Preparation answers the question "what do I owe?" Planning answers "what can I still do about it?" Most households want both.

Usually in a year when your taxable income is unusually low compared with what you expect later. For most people that falls after they stop working but before Social Security and required minimum distributions begin. A conversion is taxable in the year you make it, so the real question is whether paying at today's known rate beats paying at some future rate you cannot know yet. The answer depends on your bracket, your other income, your Medicare premium exposure, and how long the money is likely to stay invested. It is worth modeling before you act.

Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs and most employer retirement plans currently begin at age 73. That age is scheduled to increase to 75 in 2033 for people born in 1960 or later. Roth IRAs are not subject to required distributions during the original owner's lifetime. These rules have changed several times in recent years, so it is worth confirming your own start date with your tax professional.

Tax-loss harvesting is the practice of selling an investment held at a loss in a taxable account, using that realized loss to offset realized gains elsewhere, and reinvesting in a way that keeps your overall strategy intact. Losses beyond your gains can generally offset a limited amount of ordinary income each year, with the remainder carried forward. Wash-sale rules restrict repurchasing a substantially identical security within a set window, so how you reinvest needs as much thought as what you sell.

Medicare Part B and Part D premiums are income-related. The surcharge, known as IRMAA, is based on your modified adjusted gross income from two years prior, so a large Roth conversion, capital gain, or one-time distribution today can raise your premiums two years from now. The brackets work as cliffs, so going over a threshold by even a small amount can cost you real money. That is one of the main reasons we model conversion amounts carefully.

It can be. At the federal level, up to 85% of your benefit may be included in taxable income depending on your "provisional income," a figure that combines your adjusted gross income, tax-exempt interest, and half of your Social Security benefit. Other withdrawals feed that calculation, so the order in which you draw from your accounts can change how much of your benefit is taxed. Maryland does not tax Social Security benefits and offers a pension exclusion for eligible retirees. State rules and amounts change, so check current figures with your tax professional.

Not necessarily. Many people start with an introductory call just to get a second look at one specific question, like a conversion, a pending stock sale, or a withdrawal strategy. If it turns into a longer relationship, that is a decision for later. The first conversation commits you to nothing.

We start with a conversation. The introductory call is where we learn what you are trying to solve and tell you honestly whether we are a good fit. If we are not, we will say so.

At least once a year, and again whenever something significant changes: retiring, selling a business or property, an inheritance, a death in the family, a move to another state, or a major change in tax law. Many of the most useful moves, including conversions and qualified charitable distributions, have to be completed before December 31, which makes a fall review particularly worthwhile.