Start Here: The After-Tax Wealth Engineering Framework

What this site is built around

Most finance content explains what a strategy is. This site answers a harder question: should you actually do it, given your specific situation?

The answer almost always depends on after-tax economics — not pre-tax headlines. A 7% gross return and a 5% after-tax return are not the same thing. A depreciation deduction that only works if you work 750 hours in real estate is not for everyone. A tax deferral that locks up capital for seven years has a real cost.

This framework is the lens we apply to every article, calculator, and framework on this site.

The 10 principles

Every article, calculator, and framework on this site is built on these. Read them once. They will reappear everywhere.

1. After-tax return is the only return that counts. Gross return is a headline. What you keep is what matters.
2. Tax savings are the optimizer, not the strategy. The investment must stand on its own merits first.
3. Pre-tax economics always come first. A bad deal is not fixed by depreciation.
4. Complexity has a real, measurable cost. Admin burden, audit risk, locked capital, and time are expenses most content ignores.
5. Liquidity is a return component. Capital locked for 7 years has an opportunity cost. Model it.
6. The benchmark is always simple index investing. Every alternative must beat the after-tax return of VTI/VXUS in a tax-efficient account.
7. Tax deferral is not tax elimination. You are moving the liability forward, not erasing it.
8. Audit risk is an expense. An aggressive position that gets challenged often costs more than it saved.
9. One strategy rarely changes everything. Stack small edges. Do not chase silver bullets.
10. Know when to stop calculating and call a CPA. Frameworks get you most of the way. Facts-and-circumstances decisions need a professional.

The seven-question decision framework

Before acting on any strategy, answer all seven questions:

1. Pre-tax economics: Does this investment or strategy make sense before taxes?
2. After-tax economics: What is the actual after-tax return or savings?
3. Risk-adjusted return: What risk are you taking to get that return?
4. Liquidity cost: How long is your capital locked up? What does that cost you?
5. Complexity cost: What is the admin, accounting, and time burden?
6. Audit and legal risk: Is this defensible? What is the compliance exposure?
7. Opportunity cost: Is this better than simply buying VTI/VXUS in a tax-efficient account?

The after-tax wealth stack — ordered by practical value

For most high-income W-2 professionals, the best strategies are the least exciting ones. Work through this stack in order before pursuing complex strategies:

1. Maximize traditional 401k (if marginal rate is high today)
2. Max HSA if eligible — the only triple-tax-advantaged account
3. Backdoor Roth IRA
4. Mega backdoor Roth, if your plan allows after-tax contributions
5. Taxable brokerage with tax-efficient ETFs (broad index, low turnover)
6. Tax-loss harvesting when opportunities arise
7. Charitable bunching or Donor-Advised Fund
8. 529 planning if you have dependents
9. Real estate — only if the investment pencils on pre-tax cash flow first
10. Side business or S-Corp — only if a real business already exists
11. Advanced estate planning — when assets warrant the complexity

What this site covers

Tax-aware investing

How to reduce the tax drag on your investment portfolio without changing your investment thesis. Asset location, ETF selection, dividend drag, tax-loss harvesting, and capital gains management.

High-income tax planning

The realistic tax-reduction toolkit for W-2 employees and high-income households. 401k, HSA, backdoor Roth, mega backdoor Roth, DAF bunching, RSU timing, and the side-business question.

Real estate tax strategy

Depreciation, passive loss rules, cost segregation, short-term rental strategy, Real Estate Professional Status, 1031 exchange, and tax liens — with honest analysis of who each strategy actually works for.

Calculators

Tools that turn frameworks into decisions: rental property after-tax return, ETF tax drag, tax-loss harvesting savings, RSU sell vs hold, and more.

What this site is not

• Not a source of personalized tax, legal, or investment advice
• Not a tax-hack or loophole site
• Not affiliated with any financial product, broker, or advisor

Every article is educational. For decisions that matter, work with a qualified CPA, EA, or tax attorney.