RTS #067 Heading into “Fall Surge” meetings

I can’t even type the word “Surge” without yelling it in my head like they did in the 90s commercials for the now-forgotten precursor to brands like Monster and Rockstar…but I digress.

In the financial planning world, the idea of surge is intentionally stacking client meetings at specific times of year to deliver the most value possible and streamline your process for better client outcomes, better outcomes for your team, and better outcomes for yourself. Every advisor focused on tax planning should want to have fall client planning meetings, whether you call them Surge meetings or not (if you want to learn more about Surge meetings, check out what our friends over at The Perfect RIA have to say on the topic, I’ve personally talked to dozens of advisors who have transformed their lives and their practices through implementing Surge).

Taxes are just one piece of the puzzle you are putting together as a financial advisor, but fall is a great time to make sure it’s included on your agenda. Depending on the client, there could be any number of potential tax topics that might be relevant, and the great news is that there are still a few months left to get the work done to make the tax planning a reality:

• Roth conversions
• Withholding adjustments
• Capital gains harvesting
• Charitable giving that actually has a tax impact and doesn’t just get lost in the enormous standard deduction (QCDs and DAFs come to mind)
• Address life changes that impact filing status or tax brackets
• Max funding retirement accounts
• Deciding between pre-tax and after-tax contributions
• College planning
• Gifting to children
• How IRMAA will impact them
• The TCJA Sunset
• Tax law changes and the election (see last week’s newsletter)
• Setting up a Solo 401(k) or SEP

Just to name a few.

Don’t try to cover the whole list with every client (or any client, really). Pick one or two things you are going to address with every client unless you already know a specific client has a unique tax event for the year. Even if you are fairly confident no action will be needed, still bring up the topic so you can apply the dishwasher rule and make sure your clients know all the great things you are evaluating for them.

If there isn’t something major that needs to be addressed, this can literally just be 5 minutes of the meeting, but those 5 minutes are critical. For most people, minimizing their lifetime tax bill is all about taking consistent action over time and doing the little things right. Those things don’t happen if you aren’t consistently coming back to the topic and leading the charge. With very few exceptions your clients’ tax preparers are not helping them look forward, only taking care of what happened last year.

Finish out 2024 strong by delivering massive value through tax planning (and bonus points to the ~147 of you that we will see in 2 weeks at the RTS Summit!).

Happy Tax Planning!