What’s the simplest way to avoid a surprise tax bill? In this episode of Elevate Wealth, Deanne Rosso and Ben Hall explain the difference between paycheck withholding and estimated tax payments—and when each applies.You’ll learn how W-4 withholding works for W-2 employees, when estimated payments are needed for income without withholding, and why a quick mid-year checkup can make a big difference.If you want help reviewing your withholding or estimated payments and making a small adjustment now, reach out anytime. Visit elevate-wealth.com and click Let’s Talk.#ElevateWealth #TaxWithholding #EstimatedTaxes #TaxTips #PersonalFinance #FinancialPlanning #TaxTime

What's the simplest way to avoid owing a lot at tax time? Find out today on Elevate Wealth. Hey there, I'm Deanne Rosso with Elevate Wealth. I'm your host today and I'm joined by our director of tax services, Ben Hall. Ben, thank you again for joining me today. Thank you. So, Ben, help us connect the dots. When is paycheck withholding enough, and when do estimated tax payments come into play? Sure. So, yeah, good question. And the idea is to make sure you're paying enough tax throughout the year, right? There's a couple different ways to do that. The main one is through your paycheck withholdings. If you're a W2 employee, you want to make sure you fill out your form W4. And so that's the form that you give to your employer and it tells them how much to withhold from your paycheck each month. So you make sure you know throughout the year that you're withholding a little bit every month. So you get to the end of the year and you don't have a huge tax bill. So that's kind of the primary way. But some people have income that's not on a W2. For example, if you have like a side gig, if you manage a side business or something like that, or if you have a rental property where you're generating rental income, or you may have some other types of investments that generate income. Well, these are scenarios where you're not getting a W2. You're not having anything withheld. So, you might have to make estimated tax payments throughout the year. In that case, it's fairly easy to do. You just estimate what your income's going to be and what you think your tax might be on that income. Then you make estimated payments directly to the IRS throughout the year. So the same principle, you would just want to make sure you get to the end of the year and you've paid in enough taxes to where you don't have a huge tax bill at the end of the year. A quick, you know, checkup during the year is probably a good idea. Maybe maybe multiple checkups during the year because you can tweak these things throughout the year. So if your situation changes, your income is going to be higher or lower than you thought it would be, you can make adjustments throughout the year so you end up pretty close to what you thought you were going to be when it comes time to file your taxes. Yeah. What I hear from a lot of my clients is we don't want surprises at tax time. And so to your point, the easiest way to do that is to have that check-in throughout the year. Add up everything you've gotten in income. Do a little check-in on how much tax do I anticipate owing this year. Right. So, great tips, Ben. And if you need help figuring out, you know, how much income do I have? What's my tax bracket? What's my anticipated tax liability next year? And am I withholding enough? We can help you with answers to those questions and more. You can visit us at elevate-wealth.com and click let's talk. Thanks so much for watching. We'll see you again next time.

People often say, “I’m in the xx% tax bracket,” but does that mean all of their income is taxed at that rate? In this Elevate Wealth episode, Deanne Rosso and Ben Hall explain how tax brackets actually work—and clear up one of the most common misunderstandings about taxes.You’ll learn how the progressive tax system works, what marginal tax rates really mean, and why moving into a higher bracket doesn’t increase the tax rate on all your income.If you’d like help understanding where your “top slice” of income falls and what planning strategies may make sense for you, we’re always happy to help. Visit elevate-wealth.com and click Let’s Talk.#ElevateWealth #TaxBrackets #IncomeTaxes #TaxEducation #PersonalFinance #FinancialLiteracy #WealthAdvice #TaxPlanning

People might say I'm in the 10 or 12 or 22% tax bracket, but what does that really mean? The answer today on Elevate Wealth. Hey there, I'm Deanne Rosso, your host of Elevate Wealth. And today I have with me our director of tax services, Ben Hall. Hello, Ben. Hi, Deanne. Thank you for joining me today. So, Ben, can you walk us through how tax brackets actually work? Sure. There's a lot of confusion around tax brackets. Basically in the US we have a progressive tax system, and so what that means is your income is taxed in layers. Okay? So the first slice of your income is taxed at a lower rate, and then the next slices at a little bit higher rate and so on. And as your income increases you move up into the tax brackets. These are called your marginal tax rates. And so moving into a higher bracket doesn't make the earlier slices of your income jump. It's just applying to the the top slice of your income. So I think that's where a lot of the confusion comes in. Most people think if I start earning a lot more money, I'm going to be in a higher tax bracket. I'm going to pay a lot more in taxes. Well, really, it's just applying to that portion of your income that goes into that higher bracket. It's not applying the the higher rate to all of your income. So, that's where a lot of the confusion has been historically. It's just important to remember that it's not your entire income that goes into that higher higher rate. I think a good tip to remember is just knowing what top slice you're in, and what what your top bracket is that you're in, because that's going to play a part in managing your taxable income. For example, if you want to make retirement plan contributions that are going to lower your taxable income, it gives you a good idea of how much tax money you can save on the rate. Okay, that makes a lot of sense. I love how you describe that as layers, and that's how we should think about it when we earn our income, from a tax perspective, is in layers. And so thank you, Ben, because that's a really great analogy and a helpful explanation. And just remember that not all your income is taxed at that top layer. And any additional income you have would be taxed at what Ben just described as that top layer or that top slice. But that's what we're here for to help answer questions about taxes and your tax situation and your financial situation overall. So, if we can be of service or of help to you, please feel free to reach out to us. You can visit us at elevate-wealth.com and click let's talk and we'd love to connect with you. Thanks so much for tuning in and we will see you next time.

What do people really mean when they talk about tax planning? In this episode of Elevate Wealth, Deanne Rosso sits down with Ben Hall, Director of Tax Services at Elevate Wealth Advisory, to break it down in simple terms.Tax planning isn’t about complicated loopholes or last-minute stress. It’s about making a few intentional decisions throughout the year—like setting paycheck withholding, contributing to retirement accounts, timing income and deductions, and checking for credits—so you don’t pay more than you legally have to.If you want help putting a simple, proactive tax-planning checklist in place, our team is here to help. Visit elevate-wealth.com and click Let’s Talk.#ElevateWealth #TaxPlanning #PersonalFinance #FinancialEducation #TaxSmart #WealthAdvice #FinancialPlanning #Taxes

What do people mean by the term "tax planning?" Find out today on Elevate Wealth. Hey there, I'm Deanne Rosso, president and CEO of Elevate Wealth Advisory and your host today. And I am joined by our director of tax services, Ben Hall. Welcome, Ben. Thank you, Deanne. So, Ben, tell us in simple terms, what is it that tax planning really means? Sure. Yeah. So tax planning in simple terms is really just about making a few smart moves during the year before you file your taxes. So you legally end up paying no more in taxes than you you're required to. It's all about being proactive and not reactive throughout the year. Some examples of that might be things like setting your paycheck withholdings correctly so you're withholding the proper amount throughout the year before you get to tax season, and so that way you don't end up with a large tax bill when you file your taxes. Also, putting money into retirement accounts can help. So, if you do that throughout the year, that could potentially lower your taxable income throughout the year. Timing income and certain deductions. You may decide to claim certain income or deductions in one year versus another year to kind of manage your taxable income during those years. And then also checking whether certain credits might apply to you. There's a lot of tax credits out there for all sorts of different situations. It's just being aware of which ones are out there and which ones might apply to you and making sure you take take advantage of those when you file your taxes. So taking small steps throughout the year like that always beats trying to scramble at the last minute to save on taxes, because if you wait till the last minute, chances are you run out of time to really make a meaningful impact on your taxes. So I would say, in summary, tax planning is really just deciding when, where, and how you want to pay tax on your income so that over your lifetime you keep most of what you earn over your lifetime. Yeah. And I think that that's a very important statement there. Keep most of what you earn. And some of those simple steps that you just mentioned, sound easy enough. They just take a little bit of time and attention, in order to save yourself some taxes, some tax dollars. So, I think overall key takeaway here is tax planning doesn't have to be complicated, right? Just taking those small steps that you need can help you be more tax efficient and keep more of those earnings that you've worked so hard for. So, thank you again, Ben, for joining me today and for those tips. And if any of you watching have any questions about your tax plan or if you can be more tax efficient, we're here to help. Visit us at elevate-wealth.com and click let's talk. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time.