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How to Minimize Taxes in Retirement

Minimizing taxes in retirement is not about avoiding what you legally owe, it is about being strategic with when and from which accounts you take income so you keep more of what you have saved.

Moore Invested

Key strategies include: drawing from taxable brokerage accounts first to allow tax-advantaged accounts to continue growing; executing Roth conversions in lower-income years before RMDs begin to reduce future taxable distributions; using Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from your IRA after age 70.5 to satisfy RMDs without the withdrawal counting as taxable income; harvesting capital losses in taxable accounts to offset gains; and timing large expenses or income events to stay within favorable tax brackets. Holding investments with high growth potential inside Roth accounts and keeping income-producing assets in tax-deferred accounts can also reduce annual tax drag. Georgia residents benefit from a retirement income exclusion of up to $65,000 per person at age 65, providing additional state-level relief. Because every retiree’s account mix and income sources are different, personalized tax planning is far more effective than any one-size-fits-all approach. Moore Invested works with clients to build year-by-year tax strategies throughout retirement.

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