Tax planning for high-income households.
Backdoor + mega-backdoor Roth, HSA optimization, Roth ladders, donor-advised funds, and tax-aware investing — coordinated, year-round.
The pains we hear from people like you.
Your 401(k) is maxed. Now what?
Pre-tax 401(k) at $23K is just the start. Mega-backdoor Roth (after-tax + in-plan conversion) can move $40K+ more into tax-advantaged accounts annually. Most high-earners don't know their employer plan supports this.
The IRS treats your withholding as good enough. It isn't.
RSU vests, bonus payouts, real estate gains, side income — none get withheld at your real marginal rate. The April invoice catches most high earners by surprise. Quarterly projections fix this.
Asset location is leaving 30-75 bps on the table.
Putting bonds and REITs in your IRA, growth equity in your Roth, and tax-efficient indexes in taxable. The drag adds up to 0.15-0.75% per year — meaningful over decades. Most W-2 households have all three account types mirrored, which is suboptimal.
Charitable giving + bunching is undertaxed for the SALT-cap era.
Post-TCJA, most W-2 households take the standard deduction. Bunching 3 years of charitable giving into a Donor-Advised Fund every 3 years gets you the itemized deduction in year 1 + standard in years 2-3. Combine with appreciated securities and the subsidy compounds.
Strategies we may apply.
Every Vega Strategy Map is range-bound — your specific facts determine the actual impact. CPA + IAR review every strategy before it reaches you.
Backdoor + mega-backdoor Roth
Direct + after-tax 401(k) contributions plus in-plan Roth conversion. Watch the pro-rata rule on Traditional IRA balances.
Learn the termHSA triple-tax-advantaged savings
Deductible going in, tax-free growth, tax-free out for qualified medical. Best held as a stealth retirement account.
Roth conversion ladder
Multi-year conversion plan filling lower brackets before RMDs hit at 73. NIIT and IRMAA aware.
Learn the termDonor-Advised Fund with bunching
Concentrate multiple years of giving into one year via DAF + appreciated securities. Avoid capital gains, get FMV deduction.
Learn the termAsset location
Tax-inefficient → tax-deferred. Highest-growth → Roth. Tax-efficient → taxable. May reduce annual drag by 0.15-0.75%.
Learn the term529 + state-tax-deduction stacking
Education savings + tax-free growth + state deduction. Superfunding 5 years of gifts to grandchildren is a powerful estate-planning move.
Frequently asked
I'm in the 32% federal bracket. What's the highest-leverage move?▾
Three usually fight for the top spot, depending on your specific picture: (1) maxing the mega-backdoor Roth if your employer plan supports it; (2) charitable bunching with a Donor-Advised Fund using appreciated securities; (3) asset-location optimization across taxable + tax-deferred + Roth. We model all three and rank by dollar impact.
Do I need to itemize to get charitable deductions?▾
Yes — if you take the standard deduction, charitable gifts don't reduce your tax. That's why bunching (3 years of giving into 1 year via a DAF) is so powerful: you itemize in year 1 and take the standard deduction in years 2-3.
Should I do a backdoor Roth if I have a big Traditional IRA?▾
The pro-rata rule (IRC Section 408(d)(2)) taxes conversions pro-rata across all your Traditional IRA balances. With a large pre-tax balance, only a tiny fraction of the conversion is tax-free. Two paths: roll the pre-tax balance into your 401(k) (if your plan accepts roll-ins), then do the backdoor cleanly. Or accept the pro-rata math.
I'm not 65 yet. Why would I open an HSA?▾
HSAs have no use-it-or-lose-it requirement. Modern strategy: contribute the max ($4,300 self / $8,550 family in 2026), invest the balance, pay current medical expenses out-of-pocket, and save the receipts. At any future date you can reimburse yourself from the HSA. In the interim, the HSA grows tax-free. It's effectively a stealth retirement account.
Strategy Map for high-income W-2 households. Free.
Upload your prior return + 5 quick questions. We email a one-page Tax Strategy Map. Reviewed and ratified by a licensed CPA. Free.
Create accountCPA + IAR reviewed. Range-bound. No hourly billing.