Guides for real money decisions

Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer: In 2026, 9 states levy no broad income tax, only a handful still tax any Social Security, 13 jurisdictions levy their own estate tax, and the federal estate exclusion is $15 million per person. Below, the state-tax numbers writers ask for most, formatted for citation. Every figure below comes […]

Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer: Probate court filing fees run about $50–$1,200 depending on the state, seven states set attorney and executor fees as a statutory percentage of the estate, and small-estate limits now reach $400,000. Below, the key probate-cost numbers for the United States, formatted for citation. Every figure below is drawn from […]

Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer (2026): The federal exemption is indexed annually, so it is a field on this page rather than a number baked in; the 40 percent top rate is statutory (IRC 2001(c)) and is built in. The result most people are not expecting is zero federal tax alongside a real state […]

Guides › Retirement Withdrawals Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer (2026): A Roth withdrawal costs nothing today, which is precisely why a naive single-year optimiser drains it first. It goes last because its value is the tax-free growth you give up, which never appears in this year’s tax bill. Knowing when to break the rule […]

Guides › Retirement Withdrawals Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer (2026): IRMAA is a cliff. One dollar over a threshold raises Medicare Part B and D premiums for an entire year, so the marginal cost of the last dollar of a withdrawal can be many times its bracket rate. IRMAA planning runs two years ahead […]

Guides › Retirement Withdrawals Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Low-bracket room does not carry forward. An unusually low-income year is a perishable asset, and the usual answer is to deliberately realise MORE income that year, not less. A low-income year is worth planning before it ends. The room disappears on 31 December, and […]

Guides › Retirement Withdrawals Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Taxable-first is a sound default, not a rule. With a 95% embedded gain and a 20% capital gain rate, selling costs 19% per dollar – more than a 12% ordinary bracket. The default inverts. Knowing your real embedded gain is the input that decides […]

Guides › Retirement Withdrawals Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer (2026): A Roth conversion and a tax-deferred withdrawal are the same kind of income and consume the same bracket space. If a conversion is planned, spending from taxable preserves the low-bracket room the conversion needs. Conversion sizing is an annual decision with lifetime consequences. Getting […]

Guides › Retirement Withdrawals Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer (2026): The gap between retiring and claiming Social Security is usually the lowest-income stretch of a lifetime. Tax-deferred withdrawals and Roth conversions are cheaper in that window than they will ever be again, and the window does not reopen. This window is worth planning properly, […]

Guides › Retirement Withdrawals Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Once RMDs begin they are not part of the decision. The distribution happens, taxed as ordinary income, whether or not it is the cheapest dollar available. Ordering only applies to spending above the RMD. Once RMDs start, the planning moved upstream. The size of […]

Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Enter balances by account type, this year’s spending need, and your own rates. The tool ranks taxable against tax-deferred by real marginal cost, takes any RMD first because it is mandatory, and places Roth last on purpose. One year, deterministic, no forecast. Withdrawal order for this year Spending […]

Guides › Social Security Timing Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Every breakeven argument assumes you reach the breakeven age. Undiscounted, 62-versus-70 breaks even around 80.3. With a materially shorter horizon the arithmetic inverts and claiming early is simply the larger number. A shortened horizon changes more than the claiming date. The matching service […]