Jesse Stacy MTAX CFP® EA

High earners get blindsided by tax bills every April. Here's why 🧵

They likely won’t completely retire. But work optional doesn’t mean never work again and the amount of relief that the couple had when leaving my office was worth every minute invested into their success

The most important piece isn’t the S&P 500 or AI. It was having a clear and shared vision with his spouse about what was needed to be done to be financially free with a 2.5% withdrawal rate and aggressive tax efficient savings strategies

A beneficiary of one of my clients inherited right around $650k after some strategic tax planning to exhaust small IRAs. During the introductory process he told me that he had some degenerative spine issues at 35 and that he wanted to be work optional by 45….

There’s an old parable about two farmers who both prayed for rain. Only one plowed his field. When the rains finally came, only one of them had a harvest. A few years ago I made a bet on where this profession was heading. I went back for my Master’s in Taxation. I earned the Enrolled Agent credential. I built the tax muscle most advisors outsource or avoid. At the time, plenty of people asked why a CFP® would double down on tax. Today, trust and tax work is one of the fastest-growing parts of my practice. Clients don’t just want a portfolio — they want someone who can sit at the intersection of their investments, their tax return, and the wealth they’re passing on. The rain is here. The field was ready.

@JJsFinclub 401k and IRAs aren’t tax-free, they are tax-deferred. A larger balance is great but is still subject to tax coming out. That’s why tax planning is most powerful. 24% tax deduction to then come out and taxed at 24% is the same thing

Same $10,000 invested for 25 years: • Taxable account → ~$74,000 • Tax-free account (401k/IRA/HSA) → ~$108,000 That’s not better stock picking. That’s tax awareness. High earners: max your tax shelters first.

Do you think people should avoid deferring taxes to prioritize taxable account investing? I find it rare to need for most income earners especially with the rule of 55 and/or 72T Not many of my clients (could be telling on myself) are financially or mentally ready to retire before 55

Max your 401(k), defer taxes, draw it down at 65. That's the standard advice. It's also advice designed for people retiring right now—not for millennials with a 10–25 year runway. The IRS has a different provision for that timeline. In 2026, married couples can realize up to $131,100 in long-term capital gains completely tax-free—$32,200 standard deduction plus $98,900 at the 0% bracket. That window was built for the 55–65 gap before Social Security starts. The people building taxable brokerage accounts now, alongside their 401(k)s, aren't planning to retire. They're planning to stop being required to work.

What a good financial advisor actually does: → Coordinates your investments AND your taxes → Plans around your income, not just your portfolio → Tells you what to do before December 31st, not after April 15th → Charges you transparently → Calls you — you don't have to chase them If yours isn't doing these things, it might be time for a second opinion. #CFP #WealthManagement #FinancialPlanning

@Greiser This is great. My clients who couldn’t wait to retire are always my favorite to schedule their next meeting. “What does your week of September 22nd look like?” Client - “let me check…yeah I’m free”

The wealthiest people I know are obsessed with something that has no price tag. Not the portfolio. Not the properties. The unscheduled Tuesday. The morning with no obligation. The week where nothing gets added without permission. The ability to disappear for two weeks and come back to find nothing burned down. That's what they're building toward. The number is just the threshold. Most financial plans tell you when you can stop working. Almost none of them ask what you'd actually do with a free Tuesday.

@JonLuskin And the first year of going from 100% growth stocks over the last 10 years to a 5 year bond portfolio and diverse global stock portfolio just hits different

Trying to explain to a near-retiree that the portfolio that got them to #retirement isn’t the same portfolio that will get them through retirement. #investing

At 25 I thought investing meant picking stocks. At 30 I realized it meant asset allocation. At 35 I understood it actually means tax-efficient, goal-based planning tied to your life. The game changes. Make sure your advisor changes with it.

If you feel like you are in the same boat and are ready to take control through delegation, see if what I do would be a good fit for you and your family. jcsretirementtaxadvisors.com

Most of my clients don't come to me because they're broke. They come because they're doing well — and they're starting to realize how much they don't know about keeping it. There's no shame in that. That's exactly the right time to get serious.

The four most expensive words in personal finance: "I'll figure it out later."

@T_Gatzemeier When I started in the business I was told that these high fee fund managers had “proprietary research”…yeah, me too!

Client sent me over the investment options for an account... The first thing I look at when I review investment choices is the expense ratios. Here's what I saw... - US lg-cap fund: .35% - US lg cap growth fund: .9% - International fund: 1.2% - Target date fund: .9% How does this still exist?!

@Realjoehartman1 Thank you for your input

@JesseStacyCFP New user to X

High earners get blindsided by tax bills every April. Here's why 🧵

@b_co_co A 9-5 won’t get you there but you’re relying on dollar cost averaging with income from your 9-5? ~logic~

Number of millionaires in the US: 2006: ~9M 2016: ~14M 2026: ~26M Your 9-to-5 won’t make you a millionaire. But $1,500/month in $VOO could get you there by 2046.

@benkellyone One is “passive” portfolio income and the other is a job. Show me 1 business with $250k+ free cash flow to owner after debt service that’s only being sold for $1m and I’ll show you that business actively going out of business

$1M in the stock market: roughly $80k a year if everything goes right. $1M in a boring business: $250-300k+ a year after debt service. Same starting capital. 3-4x the result.