Financial planners and tax preparers, together
Tax Planning Services from Financial Planners and Tax Preparers
The people who see your whole financial plan and the people who prepare your return work side by side, so tax questions are raised while there is still time to act.
Tax planning at Monument Group is a team effort for ongoing clients of Monument Group Wealth Advisors. Our financial planners bring tax planning insights into your plan, and the tax preparers at Monument Group Tax Advisors prepare your returns and assist with the planning. Together they form your tax planning team.
Tax planning and tax preparation, in plain terms
Tax preparation reports what happened. It gathers the year’s income, deductions and account activity and files accurate returns. Tax planning works earlier, while choices about income, gains, gifts and withdrawals can still be made.
At Monument Group the two are not handed to separate firms. Financial planners and tax preparers work from the same office and the same set of facts, and together they make up the tax planning team.
Who is on your tax planning team
- Your financial planner
- Monument Group Wealth Advisors holds the whole plan: income needs, investments, retirement timing, giving and family goals. Tax planning insights come from that view, because most tax decisions begin as financial planning decisions.
- Your tax preparers
- Monument Group Tax Advisors prepares your returns and assists with the planning, bringing the detail from your filings back into the planning conversation.
- Our affiliated attorneys
- Legal advice and document drafting come from Woodman & Eaton, P.C. in Concord, from Racki Law in Boston, or from your own attorney. The team coordinates with them where tax and legal questions overlap.
- Your own CPA or attorney
- If you keep a long-standing accountant or attorney, the team works directly with them.
How financial planners and tax preparers work together
The Monument Group Companies are three affiliated firms in one Concord building: Monument Group Wealth Advisors, Monument Group Tax Advisors and the law firm Woodman & Eaton, P.C. A question raised in a planning conversation can be put to a tax preparer or an attorney the same week, so clients are not sent to outside firms to find the answer. Racki Law in Boston is also an affiliated firm.
The roles stay distinct. Your financial planner leads the planning and brings tax planning insights into your overall plan. Your tax preparers prepare your returns and assist with the planning. Tax planning and preparation are offered to ongoing clients of Monument Group Wealth Advisors, a fee-only fiduciary whose compensation comes from clients and not from the products it recommends.
What the tax planning team looks at
- Roth conversions
- The years between retiring and required distributions can be lower-income years for some households, which may create room to convert. Whether a conversion makes sense depends on brackets, Medicare premium thresholds, state tax and legacy goals.
- Withdrawal sequencing
- Which account a year’s spending comes from can change taxes over time, so the order is modeled rather than assumed.
- Required minimum distributions
- Planned ahead of time so that they do not arrive as a surprise.
- Charitable giving
- Gifts of appreciated securities, donor-advised funds and bunching may suit some years better than others, depending on income and whether you itemize.
- Gains and equity compensation
- The timing of a sale, a vest or an exercise can change the tax on it, so these are reviewed before they happen.
- Estate coordination
- Massachusetts has its own estate tax with a threshold well below the federal one, so estate planning and tax planning are reviewed together. Legal work is provided by Woodman & Eaton, P.C., Racki Law or your own attorney.
Planning in the fall, preparation in the spring
Planning happens before the year ends. In the fall your financial planner and tax preparers look at projected income together while there is still time to act on what they find, including conversions, the timing of gains, charitable gifts and which account a withdrawal comes from.
Preparation follows in the spring, in the same office and from the same facts, so the return reflects decisions made during the year. A sale, a job change or a new account can prompt a conversation sooner, and we would rather hear about it before it happens.
Who this is for
This team works with ongoing clients of Monument Group Wealth Advisors, particularly households whose tax picture is changing or has several moving parts: nearing or in retirement, holding equity compensation or a concentrated stock position, owning a business, giving to charity regularly, or holding several account types or property in more than one state.
Questions to ask any tax planning provider
Whichever firm you choose, these questions can help you compare tax planning services on the same footing. We are glad to answer them in a first conversation.
- Who provides the tax planning insights, who prepares the return, and do they work from the same information?
- How often will we talk before year end, and what will you ask me to bring?
- How do you work with my investment advisor, attorney and CPA?
- How are you paid, and do you earn anything from products you recommend?
- What can you not do for me, and who handles it?
- How do you handle state filings and income from more than one state?
What tax planning can and cannot do
Tax planning may help a family make better-informed decisions and avoid surprises that could have been seen coming. It cannot guarantee a lower tax bill, a refund or any particular outcome. Results vary with individual circumstances, tax law changes and the trade-offs between one decision and another.
Tax and legal rules differ from one situation to the next, so your own tax and legal professionals should confirm any decision before you act on it.
How tax planning connects to the rest of your plan
Tax planning is one part of a larger plan. These pages explain how it connects to financial planning, income in retirement and your estate.
Tax Strategy & Preparation
Questions about tax strategy & preparation
Who is on the tax planning team at Monument Group?
Your financial planner at Monument Group Wealth Advisors and the tax preparers at Monument Group Tax Advisors work closely together. The financial planner brings tax planning insights into your overall plan, and the tax preparers prepare your returns and assist with the planning. Together they are your tax planning team.What is the difference between tax planning and tax preparation?
Tax preparation reports a year that has closed by filing accurate returns. Tax planning looks at decisions that are still open, such as conversions, the timing of gains, charitable gifts and withdrawals. At Monument Group the same team handles both, which keeps the planning and the return working from the same facts.Do your financial planners or your tax preparers handle tax planning?
Both, in different roles. Financial planners lead the planning and bring tax planning insights into your overall plan. Tax preparers prepare your returns and assist with the planning. Because they work side by side in the same Concord office, a tax question can move between them quickly.Do I need to be a Monument Group Wealth Advisors client to work with your tax team?
Yes. Tax planning and preparation are offered to ongoing clients of Monument Group Wealth Advisors. That is what lets your financial planner and tax preparers weigh a decision about a withdrawal or a conversion against your whole plan without explaining it twice. If you are not yet a client, a first conversation can show whether our approach is a fit.When in the year should tax planning happen?
Before the year ends. In practice that means the fall for anything involving conversions, gain timing or charitable gifts, because once the calendar turns, many of those choices are no longer available and preparation becomes a matter of reporting what was decided.Can you work with my existing CPA?
Yes. Some clients keep a long-standing accountant, and we coordinate directly with them. Others move preparation in-house so that planning and filing sit with one team. Either arrangement can work.Do you offer tax planning services near me?
Our office is in Concord, Massachusetts, we have signed a lease for a Boston office, and the Monument Group Companies help clients in the Greater Boston area, in many other states and internationally. Tax needs differ by state and by situation, so we confirm what we can do for you in a first conversation.Who is Racki Law, and how does it fit with Monument Group?
Racki Law is a Boston law firm led by attorney Greg Racki. It is an affiliated firm, and Greg is a partner of Monument Group. Racki Law is a separate law firm, so legal advice and document drafting come from Racki Law, from Woodman & Eaton, P.C., or from your own attorney, not from Monument Group Wealth Advisors or Monument Group Tax Advisors.How can tax planning help in retirement?
It may help households decide the order of withdrawals, plan for required distributions and consider Roth conversions or charitable gifts in the years where they fit. The benefit depends on income, brackets, state tax and other individual circumstances, and results vary.
Talk through tax strategy & preparation
Every plan starts with a conversation about what’s actually on your mind.
Schedule a time to discuss whether our approach is the right fit for you.