Tax season doesn't have to be a last-minute scramble. With smart, year-round planning, you can reduce stress, stay organized, and make tax time work for you—not against you. Watch this episode of Sidewalk Talk where Russ Riveria explains how.
Topics Discussed:
The benefit of year-round tax planning
Staying organized for tax season
Reducing stress with proactive planning
Transcript:
Hi, I'm Russell Rivera, founder and president of Voice Wealth Management, and this is Sidewalk Talk. Welcome back! As we head into March, tax teason's in full swing. Hopefully, you've got a lot of your documents together: your 1099s, your W2s, and maybe your K1s. And a lot of my clients are always trying to come into this type of year - they're always feeling stressed. They're always asking, oh, I didn't get this document, I always didn't get that document. What is it I can do now to save a little bit more on taxes this year? And the fact is, right, it's 2025, there's not a ton you can do for - to save taxes on from 2024. There are some things, but these are questions I see often, and I wouldn't be surprised if you do too.
I recently worked with a high-earning professional who was completely overwhelmed by their tax planning process. And tax planning is a process. They're managing their work, they're managing their outside investments, multiple sources of income. And every season you're left scrambling trying to figure out what's what, trying to put it all together and trying to do it by a deadline. And that can be at the very least, challenging. And especially when you're still trying to find other opportunities to save, how much can you save where, when? Also that you can sort of be compliant, take care of everything you have to do, and then just go on about your day and focus on the things you really want to focus on.
So I worked with them and we took a step back and really focused on creating a year-round tax strategy. There are things we can do during the year to help manage taxes when you're not thinking about it. There's different strategies that can make things better for clients. Not that I could talk about all of them here. And it helps not just for the current year or the past year, but of course for the future as well. Try to figure out when you're going to take distributions, how much to save, when you should do certain things, gifting strategies, charitable giving, things like that. You put all of that together, you can head into your tax season feeling prepared, confident, feeling better about what you have ahead of you because you've already given all this thought and you're not struggling to find a solution.
So again, tax season doesn't have to be overwhelming. It can just be something that we all have to live with that's slightly unpleasant. And that's because of strategic planning. So we can help you take control of your finances and if there are questions, give us a call and we'll work with you. We'd be thrilled to and make sure tax season works for you and not against you. So I'm Russ Rivera, Voice Wealth Management. Thanks for taking the walk with me and we'll see you soon.
Russell D. Rivera, CFA, CFP®, is the Founder and President of Voice Wealth Management, an independent financial services firm serving professionals, entrepreneurs, and families in New York City and beyond. Focusing on helping clients make informed decisions about saving, investing, and financial planning, Russell is committed to providing a customized approach that reflects each client’s unique priorities and experiences.