When do I talk to my clients about tax consequences on retirement accounts?

Prudent advisors will begin to look at tax ramifications early in their relationship with a client. For example, Capital Gain Harvesting while a client still has a lower tax rate. Because there is no wash-gain rule prohibiting repurchases, a client can immediately go back in and repurchase the positions. However, their long-term capital gains have been locked in at their current, lower tax rate.
Paying taxes on retirement funds whenever possible while still in a lower tax bracket is always preferable to waiting until just before retirement to examining taxes close to retirement. For more on tax considerations for retirement account withdrawals, look for our new article this Thursday.