Blog

Going over $19,000 doesn't create a tax bill. It creates a form. What the annual exclusion actually does, and how to give more without filing one.

Minnesota doesn't have an inheritance tax, but it does tax estates over $3 million. Learn the difference and what it means for your family's plan.

A $3 million exemption that hasn't moved since 2020 and doesn't transfer between spouses. What it costs, and how to plan around it.

Oregon starts taxing estates at $1 million, and a paid-off house gets you most of the way there. How to plan before it applies to you.

Most people aim higher than they need to. A more honest look at the number, and why the 4% rule isn't the end of the conversation.

What the Blue Owl redemption freeze says about fees, liquidity, and taxes inside private credit, and why boring usually wins.

Appreciated securities, donor-advised funds, and QCDs. How the 2025 tax law changed giving, and how to keep yours tax-efficient.

Three to six months of operating expenses is the usual answer. When your business needs more, and when it needs a real cash strategy.

What the SALT cap changes and the proposed pass-through deduction repeal could mean for owners in Minnesota and Oregon.

Entity structure, the QBI deduction, retirement plans, depreciation. Ten places owners most often leave money on the table.

Keep taxable income low in the first years of retirement and long-term gains can be taxed at zero. A worked example.

Deferred, Roth, or taxable. Where you hold an investment changes what you keep. A guide to getting the placement right.

The years just before retirement are the best window you'll get for conversions and harvesting. Here's how to use them.

Inflation, markets, behavior, longevity, and long-term care. The five risks every retirement plan has to answer for.

Roth 401(k)s, backdoor Roths, conversions, and HSAs. Four ways to get more of your savings into accounts you can draw from tax-free.

Filing looks backward. Planning looks ahead. Nine ways to make tax planning a year-round habit instead of an April scramble.

Seven fee-only fiduciary advisors we respect in Minneapolis and St. Paul, plus the three questions to ask before hiring any of them.

Inflation and market swings get all the attention. The bigger risk is retiring without a plan that accounts for either.

Your tax bill isn't one year at a time. It's decades. Four ways to plan for the whole arc instead of just this April.

A practical walk through the five risks every retiree faces, and what planning around each one actually looks like.

Which shares you sell matters as much as when you sell them. How the Specific Identification Method keeps more of the gain yours.

In low-income years, realizing gains on purpose can cost nothing in federal tax. One of the most overlooked moves in retirement.