Tax Planning: Why Reviewing Your Tax Return Matters

Death and taxes. The only two things guaranteed in life.

One of the biggest planning areas for our clients is tax planning. If your taxes are unclear to you and you feel like you’re not getting answers, we’re here to help.

Now that the bulk of the 2025 tax season is behind us, we’re beginning to review clients’ tax returns and plan ahead for 2026.

Tax planning takes many different forms for our financial planning clients. Some of the most common questions we help answer include:

• How much tax are we likely to pay this year?

• Are there ways to reduce the taxes we owe?

• What are the tax consequences of selling a home or rental property?

• What taxes will I owe if I sell investments in my account?

• If I withdraw $X annually in retirement, what tax bill should I expect?

• When is the best time to sell company stock?

• Should we make any moves this year to reduce taxes or take advantage of planning opportunities?

• Am I currently in a lower tax bracket than I may be in later?

• Should I consider a Roth conversion?

Trying to answer all of those questions in one blog post would turn this into an essay, so I won’t attempt to do that here. Every client’s situation is different, and tax laws continue to evolve from year to year.

What gives our clients confidence is knowing we can help provide clarity around these decisions.

One of the first steps we take is conducting annual tax return reviews.

We carefully review the prior year’s return to see if anything stands out. You’d be surprised how often we catch items that may have been overlooked, such as missed Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), IRA contributions, or Georgia 529 plan deductions.

From there, we use professional tax analysis software called Holistiplan to help organize and analyze the return.

This allows us to quickly see a snapshot of a client’s overall tax situation and identify areas that may deserve closer attention.

The software also helps us monitor important tax thresholds and areas that may deserve closer attention, including:

• IRMAA Medicare premium surcharges

• Income limits before entering the next tax bracket

• How much Social Security income may become taxable

• Available room within the 0% capital gains bracket

It can also help identify planning opportunities we may want to explore, such as:

• Roth conversion opportunities

• IRA contribution eligibility

• Remaining 401(k) contribution capacity

• Strategic income planning opportunities

Using these tools alongside ongoing financial planning conversations helps clients leave with greater clarity and confidence about their taxes and financial future.

We’re not here to replace CPAs or tax preparers. We believe in working collaboratively with trusted tax professionals and staying in our lane as financial planners.

But just like we believe clients benefit from a team approach to financial planning, it can also be valuable to have a second set of eyes reviewing your tax situation and identifying planning opportunities that may otherwise be missed.

Alpha Financial Management is a comprehensive financial planning firm serving clients as fee-only fiduciary advisors in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, and Bluffton, South Carolina.