Tax Strategy

How to Roll Over an Old 401(k) to an IRA Without Triggering Taxes or Withholding Penalties

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[Research Brief] Wealth Building | Retirement Asset Rollover When departing an employer, deciding the disposition of an accumulated defined contribution retirement balance represents one of the most critical capital allocation decisions an individual can make. Government Accountability Office data estimates that American workers abandon billions of dollars in orphan 401k accounts, subjecting their long-term wealth … Read more

Direct Indexing vs. ETFs: When Does Custom Tax-Loss Harvesting Beat Low-Cost Index Funds?

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[Research Brief] Wealth Building | Quantitative Tax Alpha & Portfolio Architecture For over two decades, low-cost broad-market Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)—such as Vanguard S&P 500 (VOO) or Total Stock Market (VTI)—have represented the undisputed gold standard for taxable investing, offering ultra-low expense ratios (0.03%) and structural tax efficiency through the creation/redemption mechanism. However, holding an … Read more

How to Use a Megabackdoor Roth to Supercharge Retirement Savings Beyond the Standard 401(k) Limit

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[Research Brief] Wealth Building | Institutional Tax Shelter Playbook For high-income professionals and ambitious wealth builders, standard retirement contribution limits represent a major wealth accumulation bottleneck. Under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 402(g), employee elective deferrals to a 401(k) or 403(b) are capped at $23,000 ($23,500 for 2025/2026), while direct Roth IRA contributions are barred … Read more

Claiming Social Security at 62 vs 67 vs 70: The Exact Math on Break-Even Age

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[Research Brief] Wealth Building | Actuarial Retirement Modeling Electing the timing of your Social Security retirement benefit represents one of the largest irreversible financial decisions in domestic wealth planning. The statutory structure created under the Social Security Act of 1935, codified under Title 42 of the United States Code Section 402, provides an eight-year window … Read more

Donor-Advised Funds in 2026: Minimums, Fees, and the Bunching Strategy

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Komon Lab | Donor-Advised Funds A donor-advised fund (DAF) lets you contribute assets to a sponsoring charity and recommend grants over time. Bunching several years of intended giving into one year may increase an itemized deduction. The contribution is an irrevocable charitable gift, not a way to keep ownership of money while receiving a tax … Read more