INCOME TAX BENEFITS
Claiming deductions, credits, & tax-free investing (e.g., Roth IRAs, 529 plans) → $1,000s – $100,000s
Tax deferral (retirement contributions, tax-loss harvesting) → $10,000s – $100,000s
Tax bracket arbitrage (Roth conversions, tax-sensitive liquidations) → 0% – 30% of total wealth
INVESTMENT PLANNING BENEFITS
Lower-cost investments → 0.45% – 0.82% annually
Tax-loss harvesting → 0.20% – 0.60% annually
Asset location → Up to 0.75% annually
Alpha-generating investment selection → >0% annually
Rebalancing → 0.35% – 0.44% annually
Diversification → Risk reduction
Closing the behavior gap → Up to 1.50% annually
ESTATE TAX BENEFITS
Federal estate tax avoidance (estates >$13.61M in 2025) → Millions
State estate tax savings → $100,000s – Millions
Probate & settlement cost avoidance → $1,000s – $10,000s
Ensuring assets go where & when intended → Priceless
RETIREMENT PLANNING BENEFITS
Tax-efficient withdrawal sequencing → 0.50% – 0.70% annual portfolio boost
Maximizing Social Security → +$10,000 lifetime
Avoiding Medicare IRMAA surcharges → $1,000s – $100,000s
Spending policies & budgeting → Makes retirement sustainable
Determining safe retirement date → Priceless
INSURANCE PLANNING BENEFITS
Optimized coverage → $100s – $1,000s annually
Catastrophe protection → Priceless
DELEGATION BENEFITS
Time-value enhancement → $1,000s – $10,000s
Freeing mental bandwidth → Emotional well-being
Task completion → Priceless
BEHAVIORAL BENEFITS
De-biasing decisions → Unquantifiable
Implementation coaching → Priceless
Source: Michael Kitces