Methodology and tax year

How the retirement tax scanner organizes preliminary discovery.

The current product uses selected facts from a completed 2025 federal tax return and a concise household conversation to organize ten independent planning signals for further discovery.

What the scanner uses

A focused household snapshot, not a complete planning file.

The advisor manually enters selected 2025 return values, filing status, dates of birth, high-level account totals by tax category, recurring retirement income, withdrawal information, and limited charitable, estate, beneficiary, health-coverage, and life-insurance facts. The scanner applies the enabled reference package and advisor-facing screening rules to those inputs.

It does not assume the return reflects a normal year, that every input is complete, or that a preliminary signal establishes an opportunity. The advisor must confirm changes, unusual events, missing records, and the purpose of any deeper review.

Ten independent signals

What each planning area gauges at a high level.

The descriptions below explain scope, not calculation bands or a recommendation to act.

Roth conversion review

Uses entered pre-tax retirement balances, Roth balances, taxable and cash assets, and tax-deferred concentration to identify whether a deeper conversion discussion may be useful.

Future RMD tax-bracket pressure

Uses a current-balance distribution proxy, recurring taxable income, time to the applicable RMD age, and supported tax-bracket references to screen for possible future pressure.

Surviving spouse tax outlook

For married households, considers the possible effect of narrower single-filer brackets, continuing taxable income, and the entered mix of pre-tax and more flexible assets.

IRMAA sensitivity

Screens Medicare premium sensitivity with filing status, age and coverage information, AGI, and tax-exempt interest while clearly identifying the separate two-year lookback requirement.

Social Security taxation review

Uses entered Social Security benefits, taxable benefits, filing status, and provisional-income factors to identify whether income coordination may merit review.

Dividend tax efficiency / capital gain planning

Reviews the entered mix of ordinary and qualified dividends, positive capital gains, taxable income, and brokerage assets at a preliminary level.

Charitable / QCD planning

Considers charitable intent, annual giving, IRA assets, and age eligibility to identify whether charitable or qualified charitable distribution questions may align.

Estate and beneficiary review

Uses high-level answers about core documents, beneficiary designations, significant changes, moves, and review timing to organize possible legal-planning follow-up.

Retirement income coordination

Considers near-term income needs, current withdrawals, recurring income, available tax buckets, and whether a coordinated withdrawal strategy has been reviewed.

Life insurance needs review

Uses entered continuing-need, ownership, coverage, sufficiency, and purpose information to organize additional insurance discovery without recommending coverage or a product.

How to read the output

Priority indicators, not conclusions.

Each planning area receives its own preliminary 0-10 review-priority score.
The software does not combine the ten areas into an overall household score.
Results are ranked from highest to lowest so the advisor can organize the conversation.
A higher score means the entered facts produced a stronger discovery signal; it is not a probability, diagnosis, recommendation, or savings estimate.
A low or zero score means no clear signal is visible from the entered information at that stage; missing, inaccurate, or unusual facts can change the result.

Known limitations

Deliberately narrower than tax preparation or a financial plan.

The current workflow uses manual entry of selected facts. It does not upload, read, or interpret a tax-return document automatically.
The scanner does not prepare or amend a tax return, calculate exact tax liability or savings, or model every federal, state, local, estate, insurance, investment, or plan rule.
It does not recommend a security, insurance product, Roth conversion, withdrawal sequence, charitable strategy, estate document, or other implementation step.
Future balances, tax law, Medicare rules, benefit elections, account ownership, plan terms, basis, deductions, and household circumstances may differ from the facts entered.
Official returns, statements, notices, plan and policy documents, legal documents, and current professional review control over the software output.

IRMAA boundary

A proxy that always requires further discovery.

The current IRMAA screen uses estimated 2025 modified adjusted gross income, based on entered AGI plus tax-exempt interest, against 2026 premium-year bands as a preliminary sensitivity proxy. Actual 2026 IRMAA generally uses 2024 modified adjusted gross income.

A current completed return therefore cannot establish the controlling IRMAA result. The prior return, Medicare and Social Security notices, material income changes, filing status, and applicable appeal or life-changing-event rules require separate review.

Source package

Current primary references.

These sources support the enabled federal discovery references. They are not a complete statement of applicable law or household facts.

IRSRevenue Procedure 2024-402025 ordinary brackets, capital-gain bands, original inflation adjustments, and age/blind additions.IRSWorking Families Tax Cuts - Individuals and workersUpdated 2025 standard deductions and temporary senior deduction enacted July 4, 2025.IRSPublication 915 (2025), Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement BenefitsProvisional-income formula and Social Security benefit taxation thresholds.CMS2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles2026 Part B premiums and IRMAA threshold bands.SSAModified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) for IRMAA2026 IRMAA filing-status thresholds and the general use of 2024 tax-return information.IRSRetirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQsRMD starting ages, calculation method, and workplace-plan caveats.IRSPublication 590-B (2025)Uniform Lifetime Table divisors used for the preliminary RMD proxy.IRSQualified charitable distributionsQCD eligibility age.

Versioning

A later completed-return year is enabled only after its reference package and related product behavior are implemented and checked. A new calendar year does not automatically change the supported return year.

Professional review

Advisors and firms remain responsible for determining whether the tool and report may be used, interpreting results, obtaining current records, coordinating appropriate professionals, and retaining required communications and records.

Methodology page updated August 17, 2026. Review the editorial standards and corrections policy for source and update practices.

Founding membership

Give prospects a clearer reason to continue the conversation.

The first 25 paid founding members receive the $499 annual rate. Annual billing only, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

View founding offer Request a 20-minute demo by email AI phone assistant: 561-652-0459