Sean Mullaney's Blog

Tax Planning To and Through Early Retirement Launch Day

It’s finally here! Tax Planning To and Through Early Retirement launches today, September 23rd. It’s available at Amazon and other online retailers. To mark the occasion, we discussed the book on yesterday’s episode of the ChooseFI podcast and today’s episode of the BiggerPockets Money podcast. We will be on several more podcasts in the coming […]

The Tax Planning World Has Changed

The tax planning world has changed. Have I and my fellow advisors caught up? Below I discuss three changes in the past three years. These recent changes make a big impact on retiree taxation. Most commentators and gurus have largely ignored these changes. The world has changed. It’s time for financial planners and tax advisors […]

2026 401(k) Catch-Up Contributions and the Quorum Clause

Starting in 2026, those with significant prior year W-2 incomes must make catch-up contributions to 401(k)s and other workplace retirement plans as Roth contributions.  Mandatory Roth catch-up contributions deny many workers 50 and older a valuable tax deduction.  The new rule originates with SECURE 2.0, a component of the Omnibus bill passed in December 2022. […]

Calculating the Senior Deduction

The tax laws have changed. Starting in 2025, those aged 65 at year-end can generally claim an additional deduction (referred to as the senior deduction or the Enhanced Deduction for Seniors) of up to $6,000 per person.  Below I discuss how to calculate the senior deduction, how to optimize planning for the senior deduction (starting […]

One Big Beautiful Bill Passes

On July 4th, President Trump signed into law the reconciliation bill, commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill. The Bill will drive a significant amount of my content creation this summer. On my YouTube channel, I will devote my Saturday videos to discussions of how the One Big Beautiful Bill impacts financial planning […]

Why I Don’t Worry Much About Sequence of Returns Risk

If there is a single article of faith in the personal finance world, it’s you’ve gotta worry! IRMAA! RMDs! Widow’s Tax Trap!  You’re rich? Great, start worrying! There’s plenty to worry about.  Hopefully most long time readers and YouTube viewers know I’m kidding since I’m a glass half-full type. Today I tackle one worry that […]

One Big Beautiful Bill and Retirees

The House of Representatives passed their version of the The One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Now it is onto the Senate. Below I discuss several ways the bill would help retirees if it enacted as is and provide thoughts on where we go from here.  Permanent extension of the 2017 TCJA greater standard deduction. Arguably […]

The Middle Class Trap

I have said the tax laws want you to retire early.  Counter to that point, the BiggerPockets Money podcast has warned that the tax laws are an effective bar to many retiring prior to age 59 ½. So who is right? The FI Tax Guy or Scott Trench and Mindy Jensen of the BiggerPockets Money […]

The Odd 403(b) Rule for Side Hustlers

403(b) plans are offered by certain non-profit organizations such as universities and 501(c)(3) charities.There’s an odd rule that side hustlers covered by a 403(b) plan should be aware of.  Section 415(k)(4) provides that the all additions limit (sometimes referred to as the 415(c) limit) is applied by aggregating 403(b) contributions with any contributions a side […]

What are Section 199A Dividends?

Did you receive a Form 1099-DIV which lists an amount in Box 5 “Section 199A dividends”? If so, you might be asking, what the heck are Section 199A dividends?  You probably never came across the term “Section 199A dividends” in high school algebra. That’s okay. Below I discuss what a Section 199A dividend is and […]