Tax strategies

Charitable remainder annuity trusts can be helpful, but advisors should be careful to follow new guidance issued by the IRS and U.S. Treasury Department.

Ultrawealthy clients looking to reduce taxable estates might consider spousal lifetime access trusts, but too-similar dual trusts can backfire.

Jason Stephens of Evertern Wealth found a client base in those fleeing high-tax states for moves to Florida and Texas.

Advisors can help clients to diversify their stock portfolios, maximize growth and defer taxes with this increasingly popular method for harvesting losses.

The department worries that some products, including Section 351 conversions and box spread ETFs, could be ripe for abuse. It is actively evaluating tools to address those concerns.

Even more than access to alternative assets and simplified platforms, advisors are looking to outside account providers to help them manage clients' taxes.

Taxpayers and tax pros have already dealt with many changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on 2025 returns, but many provisions will be effective for the first time in 2026.

The federal scholarship tax credit is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, with proposed regulations expected by the end of September.

As the July 4 launch date nears when clients can start contributing to Trump accounts, advisors discussed pros and cons of this method to save for children.

Claiming Social Security early might seem counterintuitive for the ultrawealthy, but one advisor says that when the benefits are used to fund life insurance in an irrevocable trust, the strategy could pay off for heirs.

Innocent client missteps can retroactively zero out balances in the alternatives-rich, held-away retirement accounts, with the advisor none the wiser.

If you have clients with college-age children earning money from their name, image and likeness, are they responsible enough to handle it and protect it?

Merrill, BMO and Schwab are among many firms helping clients take out security-backed loans against market gains to avoid capital gains tax hits.

Allowing clients to surrender or lapse life insurance policies before gauging value on the secondary market amounts to a fiduciary fail, argues Cole Hallman of Citizens Life Group.

Parents who don't effectively communicate estate plans to their children set them up to fail financially, emotionally and relationally.

Schwab limits the proportion of assets that its advisory partners can hold in risky long-short SMAs to 30% of the total.

Financial advisors can differentiate themselves by knowing when to apply the tax-friendly strategy — and when to take a pass.

The 10 states that offer the best return for residents' tax dollars.

The expansion of cryptocurrency, stablecoins and tokenized assets means more complexity at tax time, including a brand-new form to manage: 1099-DA.