PROTECT · VOLUME 3 OF 3 · DEEP DIVETax shelf
Advanced Tax Strategies
The deep-dive volume of the tax shelf, for readers who already know how brackets and deductions work. It shows how taxes shrink investment returns and how to cut that drag with account choice, asset location and loss harvesting, then covers charitable giving, the tax side of life events, passing wealth to the next generation, and a calendar that puts every move on its deadline.
Chapters8
Reading time45 min
Worked examples22
Updated2026-10-01
What you will be able to do
- Estimate what tax drag costs your taxable investments and name the holdings that cause most of it.
- Fill your 401(k), HSA and IRA in an order that fits your bracket, and place each investment in the account that taxes it least.
- Harvest capital losses without breaking the wash sale rule, and judge when harvesting is a real saving rather than a deferral.
- Choose between giving cash, appreciated shares, a donor-advised fund or an IRA distribution, and know when bunching gifts pays.
- Spot the tax decisions a marriage, divorce, birth, home sale or inheritance creates, and the year-end deadlines that close each one.
Contents
8 CHAPTERS · ABOUT 45 MIN- 01How Taxes Shrink Investment Returns The four ways investments are taxed, why holding period is the cheapest lever, how a small yearly tax drag compounds into a large loss, and when municipal bonds beat taxable ones.6 min4 computed
- 02Filling Tax-Advantaged Accounts in the Right Order What a pre-tax contribution saves at your bracket, why the HSA is the strongest account, an order for filling the match, HSA, IRA and 401(k), and the backdoor Roth, after-tax 401(k) and conversion moves.6 min5 computed
- 03Tax-Efficient Funds and Asset Location How to recognise a fund that is cheap to own in a taxable account, and how to place bonds, stocks and other holdings across taxable, tax-deferred and Roth accounts so the same portfolio pays less tax.5 min2 computed
- 04Tax-Loss Harvesting and the Year-End Playbook How capital losses offset gains and income, the wash sale rule and how to stay invested around it, why harvesting is mostly a deferral, and an October-to-December routine for harvesting losses and gains.6 min2 computed
- 05Giving to Charity Tax-Efficiently How the charitable deduction works under the 2026 rules, and four ways to give more for less: appreciated shares, bunching gifts, donor-advised funds and qualified charitable distributions from an IRA.5 min2 computed
- 06Tax Planning for Life Changes What marriage, divorce, a new child, buying or selling a home, a low-income year and an inheritance change on your tax return, and the decisions each one needs before the year ends.5 min4 computed
- 07Passing On Wealth Tax-Efficiently The 2026 estate and gift tax rules, the trade-off between giving during life and the step-up in basis at death, annual exclusion gifts, the main kinds of trusts, and beneficiary choices that lower the family tax bill.6 min2 computed
- 08A Year-Round Tax Calendar The dates and checks for each season: closing last year by April, a mid-year projection that shows room in your bracket, the autumn year-end review, December deadlines, and the estimated tax safe harbors.5 min1 computed
CALCULATORS USED IN THIS BOOK