Bogdan Sheremeta

TAX EFFICIENT FUND placement is an often underrated topic. The goal of the tax efficient fund placement is to minimize taxes within your investments, and select the right account for those investments.

But how much does that actually matter?

Vanguard’s research finds that a thoughtful asset location strategy can add significantly more value than an equal location strategy. The value added typically ranges from 5 to 30 basis points of after-tax return, depending on circumstances (e.g.,

IF YOU HAVE a Money Market Fund (e.g. VUSXX, VMFXX), Treasury fund (e.g. SGOV), or any other Treasury ETF (e.g. VBIL), you need to know how to report it on your taxes correctly. If you don’t, you are overpaying on your state taxes unknowingly. 
How and why?
These funds hold U.S. Treasury Bills. Treasuries are exempt from state and local taxes. Of course, this only matters if you hold these funds in a taxable brokerage account,

IF YOU OWN a home or are planning to buy one, there are a few things you need to know from the tax standpoint that could save you money:
1. Mortgage Interest
If you have a mortgage, you can typically deduct the interest you pay on the loan up to $750,000 ($1,000,000 if taken before December 16, 2017) but only if you itemize your deductions (schedule A)
You can also deduct points you paid if you itemize.

HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT (HSA) is the most efficient tax-advantaged investment account because it offers a triple tax advantage:

Contributions are tax-deductible
Earnings grow tax-free
Withdrawals are tax-free if used for medical expenses

One of the best uses of an HSA is to actually invest the balance.
For example, I keep $500 (the minimum required balance) in cash. The rest, I invest in low-cost index funds. This allows me to maximize compounding inside the HSA account.

TRUMP ACCOUNT WAS created as part of the OBBBA signed on July 4, 2025. I’ve been getting a lot of messages about it, because there is a lot of conflicting information. The IRS has also posted some instructions for the account.
My goal with this post is to walk through the rules and give my take on when (if ever), this account makes sense.
Timing & Creation
First and foremost, no contributions are allowed in this savings account for children until 12 months after the law’s enactment,

MANY PEOPLE don’t know, but there is a net investment income tax of 3.8% that applies to some of your income. Today, I want to discuss what it is, how we can reduce its impact, and how we can save money.
Let’s dive right in:
Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT)
The net investment income tax is imposed on investment income if the modified adjusted gross income (adjusted gross income + foreign income exclusion) is more than $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for those married filing jointly.

I get a lot of questions from W-2 employees asking, “How can I save money on taxes?”
Many people know that business owners have a lot of flexibility to lower their tax bill, but what about W-2 workers? I’ll skip some of the more “obvious” strategies, like:

401(k)
Backdoor Roth
HSA/FSA

Here are some other ones you might want to think about:
 
Commuter benefits
Some companies offer pre-tax commuter benefits that can be used for transportation expenses such as transit passes or parking.

MY COWORKER RECENTLY retired. He is 50 years old and has been with the company for over 25 years.
The company offers a decent 401(k) match (100% match on 6% of your salary) along with other great benefits.
In his case, how can he generate income? How can you retire early if most of your assets are in retirement plans?
Most tax-advantaged accounts have restrictions on withdrawals, but there are a few strategies that many people don’t know of:
 

MANY PEOPLE FOCUS on building wealth through asset allocation and investment choices. Far fewer think about asset protection. In my opinion, protecting wealth is just as important as building it, especially since decades of disciplined saving and investing can be undone in one unfortunate event.
In this article, I wanted to discuss some of the strategies and tips that I’ve learned, and implemented in my personal finance journey.
Quick disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer,

THE IRS RECENTLY announced inflation adjustments for the tax year 2026.
2 quick changes:

Standard deduction

For single taxpayers, the standard deduction rises to $16,100 for 2026, an increase of $350 from 2025.
For married couples filing jointly, the standard deduction rises to $32,200, an increase of $700 from tax year 2025.

Capital Gains Rates

For single taxpayers, long-term capital gains are taxed at 0% if the taxable income is up to $49,450 ($98,900 for married couples filing jointly).

BEFORE THE YEAR ENDS, I wanted to cover a great concept – tax-loss harvesting. It’s a strategy to lower your tax liability by selling investments and repurchasing a similar one. The loss can be used to cancel out gains from other investments, which helps reduce the taxes you owe. Or you can use up to $3,000 of those losses each year to lower your taxable income if you don’t have any gains.
Here’s the key goal of the tax-loss harvesting strategy:
Swap assets into similar,

BUSINESS OWNERS HAVE far more control over their tax bill than W-2 employees. But only if you know how the rules actually work. 
The tax code is structured to reward self employment, business investment, and retirement saving, yet many business owners leave significant money on the table simply because they are unaware of all the strategies.
If you are eligible, a Solo 401(k) plan can be an effective way to lower your taxes or shield your investments from future taxation.

THE IRS JUST provided some guidance on how the tips and overtime deductions will work. I wanted to spend a few minutes going over the details so that you can learn how it would be reported on your taxes and share this with friends and family.
Overtime
As a reminder, the OBBBA created Section 225, which allows you to deduct qualified overtime compensation.
This deduction is capped at $12,500 per return ($25,000 for joint filers) and is subject to a phaseout based on modified adjusted gross income.

MY WIFE AND I have around $50,000 of emergency funds (~8 months of expenses). Considering that the job market is shaky, we feel comfortable holding this much cash.
Of course, it’s important to make the most out of your savings, so I want to share some options available to earn ~4% yield on your money.
Keep in mind that you should only use the following options for emergency savings and specific saving goals (e.g.

WHERE YOU PUT your investments can make a huge difference for your after-tax wealth. 
As you know, we have 3 main investment accounts:

Taxable account. A traditional brokerage account where you are taxed every time you dividends or sell investments at a gain.
Tax deferred account. Traditional 401(k), 403(b), and traditional IRAs allow taxes to be deferred to the future. You pay taxes when your investments are withdrawn, and generally come with an immediate tax deduction.