Anonymous
05/05/2026 17:16
Subject: New job and way more money
Anonymous wrote:My husband has a new job that has a base salary and bonuses. This is new reality for us, as previously he was in the federal government. I'd like us to consult with a tax expert to figure out how best to manage our salaries and accounts. We do work with a financial advisor already, but she is not a tax expert. If you work with someone who helps you plan out your income vs taxes, what did you search for? What expertise and characteristics should I find? I have Googled tax advisors, but there are a million and I'd just love a starting point.
Make sure you do estimated taxes and do those payments to federal on a quarterly basis. If the income suddenly increases without a decent withholding, you may run into underpayment penalty next year.
Anonymous
05/05/2026 16:42
Subject: New job and way more money
Anonymous wrote:Absolutely don’t change your lifestyle. Pretend the extra money doesn’t exist. If you also work, your salary will now be taxed entirely at one of the highest brackets, so you may need to change your withholding to reflect that. Any CPA can help you figure that out.
In Maryland, you can put $5k for each child each year in a 529 that is tax deductible on state taxes — so for you, $15k, if you live in MD.
Make sure you are both contributing max to 401k.
Contribute 7k each to an IRA and then convert to though backdoor Roth IRA.
Keep track of your charitable donations because it may make sense to itemize if you also have a large mortgage interest that you can deduct.
Track dependent care spending if you have a nanny, daycare costs, afterschool costs so you can deduct up to a certain amount.
Thats pretty much it on a W2 income.
Generally good advice, but it's unrealistic and unfair to tell them to "not change their lifestyle at all." Their income more than doubled, they are entitled to a splurge or two. I'm not saying they should go out and get matching Aston Martins and only fly first class, but let them live a little. Based on a very small sample size, OP sounds like she's got a good head on her shoulders and can avoid excessive lifestyle creep.
Anonymous
05/05/2026 15:43
Subject: New job and way more money
Anonymous wrote:I disagree with folks who think OP's potential tax questions are limited to W-2 numbers.
If stock options or RSUs are involved, for example, then there might also be a choice about an 83(b) election or other kinds of tax decisions. If investing, there are significant tax differences between buying (for example) Berkshire-Hathaway and holding it long-term vs buying mutual funds or buying/ selling/ trading stocks (the last of those is where tax loss harvesting sometimes might apply).
When I was in the situation OP described, I consulted a CPA. It saved me a pile of tax - without giving up returns - by maximizing my investments that got taxed as capital gains and minimizing my investments that got taxed as ordinary income. The 83(b) election transformed options that would have been ordinary income into capital gains. Capital gains tax rate is generally lower than ordinary income tax rate - meaning less tax owed.
This. You need a really good tax person. A really good one will get your taxable income down every way possible. Your financial advisor may have a recommendation.
Anonymous
05/05/2026 14:26
Subject: New job and way more money
Depending on the new employer, there may be on site people to help with this. I work for a Fortune 500 and we have an executive compensation department and they pay for a financial advisor/tax preparation. Not much changes W-2 wise but you should ask whether you should be paying quarterly taxes. You may also have some imputed income depending on your benefit package since some benefits become taxable at higher incomes.
Anonymous
05/05/2026 14:22
Subject: New job and way more money
First of all, congrats to your husband! Sounds like a terrific opportunity and since you already have great saving habits, with a little extra advice to be careful of the tax implications of your investments, you should be in good shape. But yes, those of us W2 earners who make between $500K-$1m a year are the backbone of the American income tax revenue stream. No real way around paying a lot. Which philosophically I am fine with as a person who benefited from being born and educated in this country... well, until I start looking at the specifics of what my tax dollars might be funding right now.
Anonymous
05/05/2026 14:15
Subject: New job and way more money
I disagree with folks who think OP's potential tax questions are limited to W-2 numbers.
If stock options or RSUs are involved, for example, then there might also be a choice about an 83(b) election or other kinds of tax decisions. If investing, there are significant tax differences between buying (for example) Berkshire-Hathaway and holding it long-term vs buying mutual funds or buying/ selling/ trading stocks (the last of those is where tax loss harvesting sometimes might apply).
When I was in the situation OP described, I consulted a CPA. It saved me a pile of tax - without giving up returns - by maximizing my investments that got taxed as capital gains and minimizing my investments that got taxed as ordinary income. The 83(b) election transformed options that would have been ordinary income into capital gains. Capital gains tax rate is generally lower than ordinary income tax rate - meaning less tax owed.
If stock options or RSUs are involved, for example, then there might also be a choice about an 83(b) election or other kinds of tax decisions. If investing, there are significant tax differences between buying (for example) Berkshire-Hathaway and holding it long-term vs buying mutual funds or buying/ selling/ trading stocks (the last of those is where tax loss harvesting sometimes might apply).
When I was in the situation OP described, I consulted a CPA. It saved me a pile of tax - without giving up returns - by maximizing my investments that got taxed as capital gains and minimizing my investments that got taxed as ordinary income. The 83(b) election transformed options that would have been ordinary income into capital gains. Capital gains tax rate is generally lower than ordinary income tax rate - meaning less tax owed.
Anonymous
05/05/2026 13:35
Subject: New job and way more money
Anonymous wrote:My husband has a new job that has a base salary and bonuses. This is new reality for us, as previously he was in the federal government. I'd like us to consult with a tax expert to figure out how best to manage our salaries and accounts. We do work with a financial advisor already, but she is not a tax expert. If you work with someone who helps you plan out your income vs taxes, what did you search for? What expertise and characteristics should I find? I have Googled tax advisors, but there are a million and I'd just love a starting point.
We use a Certified Public Accountant licensed in our state. This is what they are really good at.
They also can help you understand tax implications of various savings or investment options (but they are not investment advisors).
Anonymous
05/05/2026 13:19
Subject: New job and way more money
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Thank you! This is all new to us, so apologies for the naive/ignorant questions. Household income is going from roughly 250k to about 600k. I realize that on DCUM, it isn't that crazy, but to us, it's mind-blowing. I have questions about withholding, yes, and also how to invest wisely to lower taxable income. We also have 3 kids that will be in college at the same time, so some of the questions go towards preparing for that in the smartest way.
your situation sounds like basic w2 stuff. Does either of your employers have one of those benefits where you can talk to a financial advisor for free? or often your employer sponsored 401k plan has that. sounds like you just need basics education on how to manage money, where to start with 529s, basic definitions and understanding of taxable vs tax deferred retirements accounts, and how to budget?
Thanks. OP here. We have 529s, we max out the 401k/403b, we have Roths that we can no longer contribute to, and we have an after-tax brokerage. Sounds like we need to start with our current financial advisor, educate ourselves better, and go from there.
Anonymous
04/30/2026 06:18
Subject: New job and way more money
Anonymous wrote:Thank you! This is all new to us, so apologies for the naive/ignorant questions. Household income is going from roughly 250k to about 600k. I realize that on DCUM, it isn't that crazy, but to us, it's mind-blowing. I have questions about withholding, yes, and also how to invest wisely to lower taxable income. We also have 3 kids that will be in college at the same time, so some of the questions go towards preparing for that in the smartest way.
Anonymous
04/30/2026 06:18
Subject: New job and way more money
Anonymous wrote:Thank you! This is all new to us, so apologies for the naive/ignorant questions. Household income is going from roughly 250k to about 600k. I realize that on DCUM, it isn't that crazy, but to us, it's mind-blowing. I have questions about withholding, yes, and also how to invest wisely to lower taxable income. We also have 3 kids that will be in college at the same time, so some of the questions go towards preparing for that in the smartest way.
your situation sounds like basic w2 stuff. Does either of your employers have one of those benefits where you can talk to a financial advisor for free? or often your employer sponsored 401k plan has that. sounds like you just need basics education on how to manage money, where to start with 529s, basic definitions and understanding of taxable vs tax deferred retirements accounts, and how to budget?
Anonymous
04/30/2026 06:11
Subject: New job and way more money
Depends on what you are holding. If you are mainly a W2 family there’s not much a tax planner can help with, you just need a decent tax preparer to leverage the minimal deductions you can take. . However if you have investments that are tax complex you need a planner who specializes in that. For us we have a lot of real estate, and utilize SBLOCs. Our tax planner is well worth the expense (BTW they are usually $300/hr) as they save us way more than they cost.
so what you need is a tax planner if you have income sources other than w2s. But you need one that specializes in your particular wealth growth strategy.
so what you need is a tax planner if you have income sources other than w2s. But you need one that specializes in your particular wealth growth strategy.
Anonymous
04/30/2026 05:58
Subject: New job and way more money
Oh last one as someone mentioned is tax loss harvesting. We have a certain amount each month that is automatically deposited in Betterment. They robo invest with pretty low fees and they do automatic tax loss harvesting for us. They’ve done better than the financial advisers we have, so we’ve switched over to them entirely.
Anonymous
04/30/2026 05:56
Subject: New job and way more money
Absolutely don’t change your lifestyle. Pretend the extra money doesn’t exist. If you also work, your salary will now be taxed entirely at one of the highest brackets, so you may need to change your withholding to reflect that. Any CPA can help you figure that out.
In Maryland, you can put $5k for each child each year in a 529 that is tax deductible on state taxes — so for you, $15k, if you live in MD.
Make sure you are both contributing max to 401k.
Contribute 7k each to an IRA and then convert to though backdoor Roth IRA.
Keep track of your charitable donations because it may make sense to itemize if you also have a large mortgage interest that you can deduct.
Track dependent care spending if you have a nanny, daycare costs, afterschool costs so you can deduct up to a certain amount.
Thats pretty much it on a W2 income.
In Maryland, you can put $5k for each child each year in a 529 that is tax deductible on state taxes — so for you, $15k, if you live in MD.
Make sure you are both contributing max to 401k.
Contribute 7k each to an IRA and then convert to though backdoor Roth IRA.
Keep track of your charitable donations because it may make sense to itemize if you also have a large mortgage interest that you can deduct.
Track dependent care spending if you have a nanny, daycare costs, afterschool costs so you can deduct up to a certain amount.
Thats pretty much it on a W2 income.
Anonymous
04/30/2026 00:00
Subject: New job and way more money
Anonymous wrote:Thank you! This is all new to us, so apologies for the naive/ignorant questions. Household income is going from roughly 250k to about 600k. I realize that on DCUM, it isn't that crazy, but to us, it's mind-blowing. I have questions about withholding, yes, and also how to invest wisely to lower taxable income. We also have 3 kids that will be in college at the same time, so some of the questions go towards preparing for that in the smartest way.
Do not change your lifestyle and save it for college.
Anonymous
04/29/2026 12:08
Subject: New job and way more money
Anonymous wrote:Surprised at all these answers that you don’t need to do anything to minimize taxes. If you have a significant non-retirement brokerage account, tax efficiency is absolutely a core consideration. If you buy and hold mutual funds, the trades of underlying assets can be taxable events for you. Tax loss harvesting is absolutely a thing. Add to that any 1099 or other non-W2 income, and you can end up owing a lot, and strategies like donating appreciated shares can be a lifesaver.
This is why mutual funds don’t really make sense but alas are still pushed heavily by “financial advisors”