Every year, we all face the same unavoidable task: filing a tax return.
But taxes are not just an annual chore. They are likely the single largest expense you will face over your lifetime. And they influence nearly every major financial decision you make, from saving and investing to retirement and estate planning.
Yet most people find themselves in a rushed panic each spring, never fully understanding how their decisions affect their lifetime savings.
Best practice tax services begin by recognizing a simple truth: all elements of your financial life are interconnected, with taxes at the center.
From this understanding, taxes become part of Comprehensive Wealth Management, the totality of your financial life. This allows you to look at your finances holistically and take advantage of all the potential interactions.
Since this is likely a new perspective, we’re going to run through the full best practice tax program in five parts:
- Service Structure and Preparation (You are here)
- Understanding Your Tax Return.
- Tax Planning for Your Finances and Retirement
- Optimizing Investment Strategy for Tax Consequences
- Estate Planning, Tax Mitigation, and More
By the end of these five parts, you will have everything you need to recognize best practice tax services and settle for nothing less.
Why Structure of Service Matters More Than You Think
Before you even choose a tax preparer, there is a bigger and more important question:
What structure of service do you actually need?
Most tax services are designed as specialized, seasonal businesses. Their primary objectives are compliance and business profitability. They prioritize accurate filing, on time, and they only get paid for completed tax returns. The time for dialogue, understanding and optimization is limited at best.
Tax advice across all your financial services is typically not even on the table.
Likewise, most financial services are fragmented into silos. Advisors focus on investments or projections. CPAs focus on last year’s numbers. Coordination between the two is limited, and effective optimization across your full financial framework is unlikely to happen.
We wrote more about this gap in financial services recently, but here are the basic reasons:
- Financial Advisors are not tax professionals. They would need to spend a great deal of time and effort learning about the intricacies of the tax system. Even then they are rarely tax professionals capable of giving advice.
- CPAs simply do not have the time to provide financial advice, as they are already overburdened by the seasonal rush for tax filing. Furthermore, they are unlikely to be able to give broad financial advice.
The bottom line is that clients are left with completed returns but little understanding of what the numbers mean, or what could have been done differently.
Best Practice Tax Services require a structure capable of seeing the whole picture.
That means having access to Comprehensive Wealth Management, not just a single specialist doing their part in isolation. You may not need the full spectrum of wealth management services, but the key is to always have access to breath and coordination of advice, at a reasonable cost.
With advice from this high-level perspective, you are much more likely to find a structure of service that fulfills your needs both now and into the future.
Preparation and a Disciplined Schedule Are Non-Negotiable
Once the right structure is in place, the next critical factor is preparation.
Tax professionals are under intense deadline pressure. In peak season, even excellent CPAs may be responsible for hundreds of returns. The reality is simple: the closer you are to the deadline, the less time there is for thoughtful review, explanation, or optimization.
That’s why best practice means staying ahead of the curve.
When you provide complete and timely data early:
- Your return is prepared sooner.
- You receive a provisional return with time to review.
- You can understand what the return is telling you before decisions are locked in.
- You still have time to adjust withholding, make IRA contributions, or complete transfers.
The most effective clients set their own internal tax schedule, well in advance of official deadlines. Being first in line is often the only way to ensure you have the time and attention needed to make informed decisions.
Use the Free Tax Guides — They Matter More Than You Think
Each year, tax rules shift. Thresholds move. Deductions change. New legislation alters the landscape.
Best practice tax services make sure clients are aware of these changes through free tax guides, which outline:
- Updated thresholds affected by inflation
- Legislative changes (like this year’s “Big Beautiful Bill”)
- Deductions or credits that may be overlooked
- Planning opportunities that still exist late in the tax preparation process
These guides represent the hand you’re dealt for the current tax year. When you understand where key thresholds lie, small adjustments, sometimes even at the last minute, can have an outsized impact on your tax outcome.
It’s important not to assume your tax preparer will identify every opportunity, especially as deadlines approach. Time pressure reduces possibilities.
Clients who review these guides and engage proactively (with their advisor and their tax professional) are far more likely to capture available savings and avoid missed opportunities.
Taking Ownership of the Process
Best practice tax services are not passive. They require engagement.
When you understand your structure of service, follow a disciplined schedule, and use all available resources, taxes shift from being a recurring burden to becoming a strategic component of your financial health.
Within the structure of comprehensive wealth management, no opportunity needs to be missed.
Taxes may be mandatory, but confusion, inefficiency, and missed opportunities are not.
For a deeper discussion about the structure you need, set up a conversation with me.
And here are the tax guides I mentioned earlier: Big Beautiful Tax Guide and 2026 Tax Reference Guide.
Let’s start 2026 off on the right foot!
