Tax strategy, decoded.
New to this? Read these first.
How Retirement Income Is Taxed: The Federal Employee Version
How the FERS pension, Social Security, and TSP withdrawals are each taxed at the federal level, the provisional income formula that decides how much Social Security is taxable, the new OBBBA senior deduction, and a full worked example tracing a single GS-13 retiree’s $96,000 of income down to a 9.7% effective rate.
Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA: Which Is Right for You? (2026)
It comes down to whether your tax rate is higher now or later. The 2026 limits, the income phase-outs, and a side-by-side that picks a lane for your situation.
IRMAA Explained: The Medicare Surcharge That Catches Feds
IRMAA is the Medicare premium surcharge that turns one dollar of extra income into a four-figure cost. The 2026 brackets, the two-year MAGI lookback that ambushes new retirees, the cliff effect, what counts as MAGI, and the SSA-44 appeal most retirees never file.
Roth & conversions
Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA: Which Is Right for You? (2026)
It comes down to whether your tax rate is higher now or later. The 2026 limits, the income phase-outs, and a side-by-side that picks a lane for your situation.
The Roth Conversion Ladder: Bracket-Filling Year by Year (2026)
A Roth conversion ladder fills a tax bracket each year and starts a 5-year clock per conversion. The 2026 brackets, the key traps, and a ladder planner.
The Roth Conversion Window: Low-Tax Years Before RMDs
The gap between retirement and the first RMD at 73 is the lowest-tax stretch most retirees will ever see. The bracket-filling method, the two ceilings (tax brackets and IRMAA), the TSP in-plan conversion option launched in 2026, the five-year rule, and an honest look at who should and shouldn’t convert.
NUA: The Company-Stock Tax Break Most Rollovers Destroy (2026)
Net Unrealized Appreciation lets you pay capital-gains rates, not ordinary income, on employer stock in a 401(k). The rules, the traps, and a calculator.
Roth Conversions vs. ACA Subsidies: The Early-Retiree Cliff Before 65
In 2026 the ACA subsidy cliff is back at 400% FPL. Every conversion dollar raises MAGI and can wipe out your premium tax credit. Finding your conversion band, with a cliff calculator.
RMDs & inherited accounts
RMD Strategy for Federal Retirees: The Age 73 Tax Stack
At 73, required minimum distributions begin and stack on top of the pension and Social Security. The calculation, the first-year April 1 trap that forces two RMDs into one year, the TSP “still working” exception, and why Roth TSP is now RMD-exempt since 2024.
The 25% Penalty Hitting Retirees Who Miss the RMD Deadline
Missing a Required Minimum Distribution triggers a 25% federal excise tax. The age-73/75 rules, the Uniform Lifetime Table math, the 10% correction window, and the QCD and Roth-conversion moves that shrink the obligation.
Inherited IRA & TSP: The 10-Year Rule for Your Heirs (2026)
Most heirs must empty an inherited IRA within 10 years, and the IRS now enforces annual RMDs in that window. What your beneficiaries face — and how to plan.
Qualified Charitable Distributions: Give From Your IRA, Skip the Tax
Send up to $111,000 from an IRA straight to charity in 2026 — excluded from income, satisfying your RMD, and lowering your AGI and IRMAA. Includes the federal TSP-rollover catch and a savings estimator.
IRMAA & Medicare taxes
IRMAA Explained: The Medicare Surcharge That Catches Feds
IRMAA is the Medicare premium surcharge that turns one dollar of extra income into a four-figure cost. The 2026 brackets, the two-year MAGI lookback that ambushes new retirees, the cliff effect, what counts as MAGI, and the SSA-44 appeal most retirees never file.
The IRMAA Cliff: One Big Income Year, Higher Medicare Premiums
The 2-year lookback, the per-person cliff, the full 2026 bracket table, and the widow trap — with a 2026 IRMAA calculator.
IRMAA Appeal: How to Fight the Surcharge With Form SSA-44 (2026)
Retired but paying IRMAA on your old salary? Form SSA-44 lets you appeal using current income after a life-changing event. The 2026 tiers and a calculator.
The Net Investment Income Tax (3.8% NIIT)
The 3.8% surtax that ambushes big-income years. Roth conversions and RMDs aren’t investment income but raise MAGI and drag it in. The “lesser of” rule, unindexed thresholds, and a calculator.
State taxes & where to retire
State Taxes on Federal Retirement Income: The 2026 Map
Your pension, Social Security, and TSP are taxed the same by the IRS no matter where you live — but states differ enormously. The nine no-income-tax states, the states that exempt retirement income, the eight that still tax Social Security, special rules for federal pensions, and the relocation math.
Best States to Retire in 2026: Beyond the Tax Map
Every “best states” list crowns a different winner because each weights factors differently. The four that matter, the usual winners’ catches, and a ranker that reorders the map around your priorities.
The 9 States Where Your Retirement Income Stays Untouched
Nine states tax zero retirement income; four more fully exempt it. Includes an interactive state-by-state calculator and a six-step relocation decision tree — plus the property-tax and Florida-insurance trade-offs that change the math.
Establishing Domicile in a No-Tax State
Moving to Texas or Florida can shield your pension, TSP, and Social Security from state tax — but only if you truly change domicile. The steps, the audit traps, and a savings calculator.
Retirement income tax
How Retirement Income Is Taxed: The Federal Employee Version
How the FERS pension, Social Security, and TSP withdrawals are each taxed at the federal level, the provisional income formula that decides how much Social Security is taxable, the new OBBBA senior deduction, and a full worked example tracing a single GS-13 retiree’s $96,000 of income down to a 9.7% effective rate.
Tax Withholding for Retirees: Safe Harbor, W-4P, and Avoiding Penalties
No employer withholds for you anymore. The three safe harbors, the W-4P/W-4R/W-4V toolkit, the December-RMD withholding trick, and a safe-harbor checker that tells you how much to withhold.
Estimated & Quarterly Taxes in Retirement: The Safe-Harbor Rule (2026)
The $1,000 trigger, the 100%/110% safe harbor, 2026 due dates, the withholding shortcut, and the new-retiree waiver — with a quarterly-payment calculator.
The Senior Bonus Deduction: The New $6,000 Tax Break for 65+ (2026)
The OBBBA's $6,000 senior deduction (2025–2028): who qualifies, the 6% MAGI phaseout, how it stacks, and why it matters for federal retirees — with a calculator.
Advanced moves
The HSA in Retirement: The Stealth IRA & Medicare Rules (2026)
The only triple-tax account becomes a stealth IRA after 65 — tax-free for medical and Medicare premiums. The 2026 limits, the Medicare trap, and a growth projector.
The 0% Capital Gains Bracket: Sell Stock Tax-Free in 2026
A married couple under $98,900 of taxable income pays zero federal tax on long-term gains. How tax-gain harvesting works, the stacking trap, and a headroom calculator — plus why the FERS pension shrinks the window.
The Widow's Penalty: Why Taxes Rise When a Spouse Dies (2026)
Why a survivor pays more tax on less income: the bracket squeeze, the standard-deduction cliff, the IRMAA jump, and the Roth moves that soften it — with a calculator.
The numbers that anchor 2026
A few figures shape almost every federal retirement tax decision this year:
- ~95% — the share of a typical FERS pension that is taxable at the federal level
- Age 73 — when required minimum distributions begin for retirees born 1951–1959
- $6,000 — the OBBBA senior deduction per person 65+, available 2025–2028
- $109,000 / $218,000 — the 2026 IRMAA first threshold, single and married filing jointly
- 13 — states where a federal retiree’s core retirement income faces no state income tax
Continue across the federal retirement picture
Tax strategy is one layer of the retirement plan. The TSP pillar covers contribution limits, fund choices, and withdrawals, the FERS & CSRS pillar covers pension calculation and retirement eligibility, and the Social Security pillar covers claiming strategy for federal employees.
Explore the TSP pillar →