

The Retirement Tax Podcast
Steven Jarvis and Benjamin Brandt
The Retirement Tax Podcast is your place to learn how to sand the rough edges off your 6 or 7 figure income tax bill the IRS expects you to pay over the course of your retirement. Hosts Benjamin Brandt, CFPⓇ , and Steven Jarvis, CPA bring you tax topics you can take action on. Leveraging their combined decades of experience in the financial planning and accounting worlds they share their insights and answer your questions.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 15, 2024 • 19min
Understanding your tax return: Part 1 Ep.59
In this episode resident "Least Boring CPA" Steven Jarvis takes you through the first part of a 1040 providing insight and information to make sure you understand your tax return. Steven covers both technical details as well as reminders on what might be most relevant to you and changes to watch out for from year to year. This is as "hands on" as a podcast episode can get so be sure and follow Steven's recommendation to have your own tax return handy as you listen to this great episode. https://zurl.co/QduA

Feb 1, 2024 • 18min
The internet wouldn't lie to you, would it? Ep.58
In this episode your favorite "least boring" tax podcast hosts are back to sort out the truth on the internet. Sharing some recent tax articles they read, Steven and Ben dive into a specific example of when the internet gets it wrong and some general advice on how to make sure you know what is actually true online. This isn't about dragging anyone through the mud, Steven and Ben both give examples of times they've gotten things wrong, but it's important to commit to life long learning and always improving. https://bit.ly/3S56UUJ

Jan 15, 2024 • 18min
Tax Potpourri Ep.57
In this episode your Least Boring Tax Podcast hosts cover a variety of tax topics including unusual ways to use the IRS's 60-day rollover rules on IRAs. As always Ben and Steven pull from real experiences serving real clients to share ways you can better understand your own tax situation and proactively plan for the future to sand the rough edges off your Retirement Tax bill. https://bit.ly/3HeePtO

Jan 1, 2024 • 19min
Happy New (Tax) Year! Ep.56
Ben and Steven are kicking off 2024 by helping you wrap up 2023 and look to the future. Just because the calendar flipped over doesn't mean we can forget about 2023 quite yet. Make sure you are keeping track of important deadlines and on the look out for the tax documents you or your tax pro will need to get your 2023 tax filing done. Taxes will hopefully NOT be the most exciting part of your 2024, but small consistent actions over time will help make sure they are a little less painful this year.

Dec 15, 2023 • 23min
Throwback: “Getting Real about Aunt IRMAA” Ep.55
Going back to the most popular episode of the year of The Least Boring Tax Podcast as Steven and Ben discussed all things Medicare and everyone's least favorite tax relative: IRMAA. You hear the acronym all the time but our dynamic duo took a few minutes to dive into how IRMAA really works and the important things to keep in mind when IRMAA starts effecting you. https://bit.ly/47XvTQM

Dec 1, 2023 • 16min
The worst two words when planning for the future Ep.54
In this episode Ben and Steven have a less technical discussion and instead focus on the importance of mindset and perspective when it comes to planning. The words we use can make all the difference on the success of a plan and our ability to really consider changes we may need to make. Ben and Steven also talk about a recent live webinar they did together and some of the highlights of what was discussed there.

Nov 15, 2023 • 19min
Taxes in the real world, Ep.53
03In this episode Ben and Steven discuss some real life examples of how things can go wrong with the IRS. This isn't meant to be doom and gloom, they share how you can be proactive and avoid getting into trouble, and best practices for what you should do if the IRS does ever have questions about any of your tax returns. At the end of the day applying the "straight face" test and keeping great records are your keys to success. https://bit.ly/3QW2ZJx

Nov 1, 2023 • 18min
Back to the basics on Roth, Ep.52
Thanks in part to an article that kept being sent to Steven, he and Ben share their thoughts on what the true value of Roth accounts can be and how to sift through the "noise" on the internet (that Steven refers to as garbage at one point in the episode). Tax planning is situation specific so Ben and Steven talk about the clients they typically work with and how it is going to make the most sense to look into Roth options. Stay to the end for their thoughts on what Congress might do in the future with Roth rules. https://bit.ly/475qfuO

Oct 15, 2023 • 22min
One of you is going to die first, Ep.51
In this episode Ben and Steven give a preview of the upcoming live webinar on October 25th centered around planning for the inevitable passing of the first spouse. It may not be a fun topic to think about but there are a lot of important planning considerations when it comes to your life and legacy. From how your tax situation will immediately change to proactively disclaiming assets our hosts share valuable insight and an invitation to join a live session to learn even more. https://bit.ly/3ZwfYW3

Oct 1, 2023 • 26min
How to "guarantee" an IRS audit, ep. 50
In this episode Ben and Steven compare their approaches to the speed limit (they recently took a road trip with their families) and how that is different from how they look at filing their taxes. They are serious when they say "pay every dollar you owe", tax planning is not trying to see what you can get away with. Our hosts go through an entire list of potential ways to increase your risk of audit and share similar wisdom for most of these areas: do the right thing and keep great records. https://bit.ly/452LfB0