Tax Planning
Everything worth doing has to happen before December 31
The problem
The tax conversation usually starts in February, when nearly every meaningful lever has already expired.
Why it matters
Timing decisions — income, expenses, purchases, contributions, compensation — are only available while the year is open. After that, you are simply reporting.
How to know if you have this
- Your first tax conversation each year happens after year end
- You have never had a written year-end plan
- Retirement contributions are decided at filing time
- Income or expenses could be shifted between years but never are
How Advisory Motion solves it
- 01Run a projection by October so decisions have runway
- 02Rank available strategies by dollar impact and effort
- 03Execute with a dated checklist and confirm completion before year end
- 04Hand your preparer a documented plan instead of a pile of questions
Illustrative example
An October projection, a November decision
A retirement plan design, an equipment timing change and a compensation adjustment were executed with weeks to spare — none of which would have been available in February.
Illustrative composite · not a client identification
Where this connects