That's not your fault. Your advisor showed you how to save. Nobody showed you how to keep it.
Every dollar sitting in your traditional IRA or 401(k) has a tax bill attached to it. The IRS calls it "deferred taxes." We call it what it is — money they're waiting to collect. The question isn't whether you'll owe it. It's how much, and whether you have a plan to reduce it. Summit Tax Services specializes in the tax side of retirement. We show you the number. Then we show you how to shrink it.
Free. Takes 2 minutes to request. No obligation.
Most people spend decades worried about market volatility. Meanwhile, a completely predictable, entirely legal threat is building on the sideline: their tax bill.
Starting at age 73 — or 75 if you were born in 1960 or later — the IRS requires you to start taking money out of your traditional retirement accounts whether you want to or not. Those Required Minimum Distributions are fully taxable. If you have $400,000 in a traditional IRA when RMDs begin, you may be forced to take out $15,000–$20,000 that year — and pay taxes on it. Every year. Whether you need the money or not. That's not investing. That's a tax trap — and most advisors never mention it until it's too late to plan around it.
"The clients who plan their retirement taxes in their 60s have options. The ones who wait until RMDs begin have fewer."
— Summit Tax ServicesKnow exactly what your RMDs will cost you. We calculate your Required Minimum Distributions year by year — so there are no surprises when the IRS starts requiring them at 73 (or 75 if you were born in 1960 or later).
Get My Free RMD Report →Moving money from a traditional IRA to a Roth — strategically, over multiple years — can dramatically reduce your lifetime tax bill. Roth accounts are never subject to RMDs, and withdrawals in retirement are tax-free.
Learn About Roth Conversions →Up to 85% of your Social Security is taxable. Depending on your combined income, we structure your income to minimize — or in some cases eliminate — the tax on your benefit.
Social Security Strategy →Higher income means higher Medicare premiums. Your IRA withdrawals count as income — we plan around the IRMAA thresholds so you don't overpay for Medicare Parts B and D.
IRMAA Planning →What you leave behind shouldn't be a tax bill for your family. We structure your accounts and withdrawal strategy to pass on the most wealth with the least tax impact.
Legacy Tax Planning →From charitable giving strategies to qualified longevity annuity contracts (QLACs), there are legitimate tools to reduce your taxable income in retirement. We identify which ones apply to you.
Income Reduction Strategies →This is the report we're running on Facebook right now — completely free for anyone who requests it. We take your retirement account balances, your age, and your estimated income, and we show you what your RMDs will be year by year, the estimated tax cost of each distribution, where you fall against key tax brackets, and whether a Roth conversion strategy could help. No guessing. No generalizations. Your numbers.
Takes 2 minutes to request. Delivered within 1 business day.
For clients ready to go deeper on Roth conversion strategy, retirement income planning, and multi-year tax roadmaps, we built a dedicated resource just for that. TaxesRx is our retirement tax specialist platform, featuring the full suite of Roth conversion planning services and retirement tax analysis tools.
Visit taxesrx.com for Full Roth Conversion Planning →Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, Required Minimum Distributions begin at age 73 for those born between 1951 and 1959, and at age 75 for those born in 1960 or later. The IRS calculates the minimum amount you must withdraw each year based on your account balance and a life expectancy factor from IRS tables.
Failing to take your Required Minimum Distribution triggers an IRS penalty of 25% of the amount you should have withdrawn (reduced to 10% if corrected within two years). This is one of the most avoidable and expensive retirement mistakes.
Not necessarily. A Roth conversion makes the most sense when your current tax rate is lower than your expected future tax rate, when you have years before RMDs begin, and when you can pay the conversion taxes from non-retirement funds. We assess your specific situation before recommending any strategy.
Yes. The percentage of Social Security benefits subject to tax depends on your combined income (adjusted gross income plus non-taxable interest plus half your Social Security benefit). Managing IRA withdrawals, Roth conversions, and other income sources can legally reduce or eliminate the tax on your benefit.
IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) is an additional charge added to Medicare Parts B and D premiums for beneficiaries above certain income thresholds. Strategic retirement income planning can keep you below key thresholds.
The average American spends 20+ years in retirement. The decisions you make in the five years before you retire determine how much of your own money you actually keep. We help you make those decisions with complete information — not guesses, and not the advice of someone who earns a commission on what you buy.
Summit Tax Services provides tax planning and analysis services. Investment advice and securities recommendations require separate licensure; our services focus on tax strategy within our licensed scope of practice.