Eric Felsenfeld, Smart Tax Planning for Families at Ameriprise  

Get personalized tax planning for your family from Eric Felsenfeld at Ameriprise. Proven strategies to optimize savings and support long-term goals. 

Tax planning is not just an obligation that arrives every April. It is a strategy that shapes how much wealth you keep, how well you prepare for the future, and how confident you feel about your finances. Families and professionals who take tax planning seriously often find that their long-term goals become easier to reach. Advisors such as Eric Felsenfeld at Ameriprise highlight that smart planning is about reducing liabilities today while creating opportunities for tomorrow.

Let us explore how families and professionals can use tax strategies throughout the year to protect and grow wealth.

The Value of Year-Round Tax Planning

Most families consider taxes to be an annual occurrence. They collect receipts, submit documentation, and hope for reimbursement. That strategy ignores several possibilities to save. True tax preparation starts far before the filing season.

Life changes constantly. Families welcome new children, professionals shift careers, and markets rise and fall. Each event influences tax outcomes. Year-round planning means preparing in advance. It allows you to:

• Predict how income shifts will affect tax bills.

• Avoid sudden surprises in April.

• Improve after-tax investment returns.

• Align long-term decisions, such as estate strategies, with current rules.
  
  

By staying engaged every month, families and professionals move from reacting to controlling.

Core Elements of Smart Tax Planning

A strong tax plan rests on a few essential building blocks. These principles apply to every household and every professional career.

1. Income Strategy

Income is the foundation of every tax plan. Profits from investments, bonuses, freelance work, and salaries all count. Spousal income and even a child's first employment must be taken into consideration by families.

Useful Step: When feasible, change income. Delay a bonus or raise retirement payments during a year with a high salary, for instance.

2. Maximized Deductions

Deductions reduce taxable income. Families often miss out because they scramble at the last moment. Mortgage interest, student loan interest, charitable gifts, and medical costs all lower taxes.
Practical Step: Keep track of receipts throughout the year. Waiting until April often results in overlooked deductions.

3. Efficient Investments

Not all investments face the same tax treatment. Dividends, capital gains, and retirement withdrawals each carry unique rules.
Practical Step: Use tax-advantaged accounts such as IRAs, HSAs, or 401(k)s to protect earnings from unnecessary taxation.

4. Legacy and Estate Focus

Families want to pass wealth to the next generation without heavy tax loss. Estate planning prevents confusion and reduces future costs.
Practical Step: Consider trusts, structured gifting, and clear beneficiary designations.

Tailored Approaches for Families

Families face complex needs because they balance daily life with long-term goals. Tax planning offers relief and structure.

• Education Savings: 529 plans allow tax-advantaged growth for future college costs. Contributions may qualify for state deductions, while withdrawals for tuition avoid federal tax.
  
  

• Child Credits: The child tax credit and dependent care credits reduce liabilities and reward families raising children.
  
  

• Retirement Balance: Couples often overlook the need to spread retirement savings across both partners. Balanced contributions give each spouse equal security.
  
  

For families, the lesson is to balance spend wisely today while saving effectively for tomorrow.

Strategic Moves for Professionals

Professionals often have complex income streams. Tax preparation guarantees that work results in wealth, not unneeded responsibility.

• Retirement Accounts: By contributing the maximum amount to a 401(k) or SEP IRA, professionals may lower their taxable income while also investing for the future.

• Business Deductions: When properly recorded, consultants, entrepreneurs, and freelancers may deduct home office expenditures, travel, and equipment purchases.

• Equity Compensation: Stock options bring both opportunity and risk. Exercising options at the incorrect moment might result in significant tax costs. Strategic timing prevents unneeded expenses.

Advisors with extensive experience understand how to connect these pieces. For instance, working with a guide such as Eric Felsenfeld at Ameriprise helps professionals match tax choices with long-term wealth strategies.

Frequent Errors That Undermine Planning

Even well-informed families and professionals stumble on common errors. Awareness of these mistakes protects wealth.

1. Failure to Adjust Withholding: Paychecks may include either too little or too much, causing tension when it comes time to file. To minimize surprises, withholdings should be reviewed each year.

2. Ignoring State Taxes: Federal rules dominate attention, but states often carry unique credits, deductions, and penalties.

3. Procrastination: Waiting until April removes flexibility. Many tax-saving strategies require action before December 31.

Avoiding these errors strengthens financial stability and keeps planning effective.

Why Professional Guidance Matters

Tax codes shift often. Families and professionals seldom have the time to keep up with every change. Tax advisers provide clarification. They understand how to react to changing legislation, structure income effectively, and integrate taxes with investment and estate planning.

For families, this may involve linking college savings plans with an overall retirement strategy. For professionals, it may mean structuring business income in a way that preserves wealth. Skilled advisors design approaches that evolve with life.

Integrating Tax Planning With Broader Goals

Tax planning does not stand alone. It works best when connected to every part of a financial plan. Insurance, estate design, retirement accounts, and investment portfolios all interact with taxes.

• A family that ignores insurance may face heavy costs that undermine deductions.
  A professional without estate planning may pass wealth with unnecessary tax burdens.

• An investor who sells assets at the wrong time may lose gains to capital taxes.

Integration ensures that no decision undermines another. Financial stability grows when tax planning supports every other goal.

From Burden to Strategy

Tax planning offers both families and professionals a chance to stay ahead of uncertainty. It is not about avoiding April deadlines, but about maintaining clarity and control throughout the year. Those who remain proactive benefit from greater financial success, higher investment returns, and simpler estate transfers.

Every decision matters. Contributions to retirement accounts, planned gifts to children, or a well-timed company cost may all help you achieve your goals now and later.

Smart planning does more than just decrease your cost. It increases confidence. Families receive stability in their everyday lives, while professionals have the freedom to explore possibilities. With consistent techniques and skilled assistance, everyone can utilize tax planning to build a better financial future. As shown by advisors like Eric Felsenfeld at Ameriprise, the right guidance turns complex tax challenges into opportunities for growth.