What is the difference between tax preparation and tax planning?

Tax preparation is reactive, you are taking historical numbers and filing them into software correctly to determine how much you owe or receive back as a refund. Tax planning is proactive and is a year-round process. From ensuring a plan is in place to fund estimated tax liabilities, to monitoring investment transactions or stock options so they don’t cause the wrong type of tax, to managing proper investment types to maximize after tax returns, proper tax planning can add substantial wealth to you and your family over time. When clients engage with our wealth management offering, tax planning is included in our offering.