The Clarion Call:
- Marshall Goins
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
The Clarion Call
October 14, 2025
We are in the final months of another interesting year. October is a perfect time to get a head start on holiday planning and year-end financial housekeeping! Here are some tips to help with tax and financial cleanup:
Review Your Budget: Check your spending and savings goals to ensure you're on track for holiday expenses and year-end objectives.
Check Withholdings: Review your paycheck withholdings to avoid surprises at tax time. Adjust if needed through your employer or IRS Form W-4.
Charitable Giving: Plan year-end donations for tax deductions.
Investment Review: Rebalance your portfolio and check for tax-loss harvesting opportunities to offset gains. This is an area we will be reviewing in the final months of the year.
Of all the expenses an investor pays, taxes have the potential to take the biggest bite out of their total returns. As your advisor we are constantly looking for ways to help you in this area.
On July 4, 2025, the U.S. Government enacted a new tax bill introducing key changes, including:
Increased Standard Deductions: Higher deductions to reduce taxable income for many taxpayers.
Raised State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction Cap: The SALT deduction limit has been increased to $40,000, which could significantly benefit residents of high-tax states like California.
These changes may impact your financial planning. We are not tax advisors, so we strongly recommend consulting a qualified tax professional to understand how these updates apply to your situation and to prepare accordingly. There were many other changes to tax law as a result of this bill.
As your financial advisor, we can enhance your financial plan by optimizing tax efficiency, which reduces your tax burden and maximizes your returns. Here are two key ways we can help:
Minimizing Tax Liability in Taxable Accounts: We strategically manage investments to limit capital gains and other taxable events, helping you keep more of your earnings. Common names for these account types are: trust account, individual brokerage accounts, joint tenant accounts, designated beneficiary accounts, and transfer on death (TOD) accounts.
Leveraging Tax-Advantaged Accounts: We guide you in utilizing accounts like IRAs, 401(k)s, or HSAs to take advantage of tax deductions, deferrals, or tax-free growth.
Let us know if you would like to explore these strategies and tailor a tax-efficient plan for your financial goals.
As your financial advisor, we work diligently behind the scenes to manage your taxable accounts with tax efficiency in mind. These accounts require careful oversight to minimize tax liabilities. Our team actively monitors your investments, strategically handling buying and selling to reduce taxable events and avoid unexpected tax bills at year-end. While the specifics of our approach are complex, rest assured that we prioritize your best interests to protect your financial goals.
To optimize your taxable accounts, we implement the following four strategies to minimize tax liabilities and align with your financial goals:
Tax-Efficient Investment Strategies: We employ techniques to reduce taxable events, such as selecting investments with low turnover or tax-advantaged structures.
Minimize Excessive Trading: We limit frequent buying and selling of mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), or stocks to avoid triggering unnecessary capital gains taxes.
Charitable Giving with Appreciated Securities: We may recommend donating appreciated securities to charities, allowing you to support causes while potentially reducing capital gains taxes.
Tax-Loss Harvesting: We strategically sell investments at a loss to offset gains elsewhere in your portfolio, then reposition your assets to maintain your desired investment strategy.
These approaches are tailored to your personal needs. We’d be happy to discuss when you are ready.
Tax-advantaged accounts can help you save more effectively by offering tax benefits. These accounts include:
IRAs: Traditional IRAs (tax-deductible contributions, tax-deferred growth) and Roth IRAs (tax-free growth and withdrawals).
401(k) Plans: Employer-sponsored retirement accounts with tax-deferred contributions and growth. We can discuss solo 401(k) accounts as well.
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): Tax-deductible contributions and tax-free withdrawals for medical expenses.
Other Accounts: Various specialized accounts offering tax benefits, depending on your financial goals.
To ensure you’re using the right accounts for your needs, give us a call at the office to setup a review. We’re here to help you optimize your tax strategy!
As your advisor, our objective is to grow and protect the assets you have so dutifully saved over your lifetime. We spend our time thinking and working to achieve this objective.
We will continue to monitor the markets and make adjustments to protect and grow your portfolio. Thank you for putting your trust in us.
If you would like to schedule a review meeting, please call the office at (530) 889.0200.
ADMINISTRATION
We have started using social media recently to share the message of how Clarion Advisors helps our clients achieve their financial plans.
Check out this NEW podcast with Mickie and Marshall talking about educating young people about money.
Check these out and please FOLLOW us, thanks:
Facebook: http://facebook.com/clarionadvisorsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/clarionadvisors/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clarionadvisorsX (Twitter): https:/x.com/ClarionAdvisor
Check out our Clarion Advisors blog at https://www.clarionadvisors.com/blog. We are continually adding new blog posts and we discuss everything from investment philosophy to basic financial administration.
Friendly Reminders
Our admin team has a very high standard of responding to you in a timely manner. Since most of our staff works Mondays through Thursdays, a request submitted on a Friday may take longer than usual.
Please remember to update your address if you move. You can let us know by calling the office. (If you are a Charles Schwab client, the best way to update your address is to use schwaballiance.com.) For Altruist/Pershing and John Hancock clients, please call our office and we will assist you.
Have you checked the beneficiaries on your accounts lately? This is an important annual check. For Schwab clients, you can do this through schwaballiance.com. For Altruist/Pershing and John Hancock, contact our office.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can email our administration team at admin@clarionadvisors.com. To learn more visit our website at http://clarionadvisors.com.
Each year we update our firm brochure to highlight any material changes that may have happened at Clarion Advisors. The updated brochure is available here: FORM ADV Brochure. And our updated Privacy Policy.
Marshall Goins
President at Clarion Advisors, Inc.
Phone: 530-889-0200
Mobile: 916-606-7700
Email: marshall@clarionadvisors.com
1519 Lincoln Way
Auburn, CA 95603
970 Reserve Dr, Suite 100
Roseville, CA 95678
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