Many Silicon Valley professionals reach financial independence in their 40s or 50s. The decade or two before traditional retirement benefits begin requires its own plan. A successful career in technology, combined with equity compensation and disciplined saving, allows some Bay Area professionals to consider stepping away from full-time work well before 65. The question then shifts from "how do I accumulate enough" to "how do I structure withdrawals, health coverage, and taxe

The state and local tax deduction quadrupled for many households in 2025, but a steep phase-down means the highest earners see little change. Few provisions of the 2017 tax law frustrated California residents more than the $10,000 cap on the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT). In a state with income tax rates of up to 13.3% and property tax bills that routinely exceed $20,000 on Bay Area homes, most homeowners lost the ability to deduct the majority of what they paid.

The 2025 tax law changed the charitable deduction. In our view, the new rules reward planning and timing for generous Silicon Valley households. In our experience, philanthropy is an important part of Bay Area culture, from large foundation gifts to steady support for local schools, food banks, and open-space groups. The tax treatment of those gifts changed on January 1, 2026, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21), signed July 4, 2025. The changes do not el

A property tax basis set decades ago can be worth tens of thousands of dollars a year. Proposition 19 changed the rules for keeping it in the family. Long-time Bay Area homeowners often pay property taxes based on an assessed value far below what their home would sell for today. Under Proposition 13, assessed values can rise only modestly each year until a change in ownership triggers reassessment to market value. For decades, parents could transfer a home, and up to $1 milli

The 2025 tax law removed the scheduled cut to the federal exemption, but for many Bay Area households, estate planning remains as relevant as ever. For several years, estate planners warned clients that the federal estate and gift tax exemption was scheduled to fall by roughly half at the end of 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, eliminated that cliff. Instead of a reduction, the exemption rose. According to Morgan Lewis, the 2026 exemption is $15 mill

Income limits keep most Silicon Valley professionals out of direct Roth IRA contributions, but two well-established strategies keep the door open. The Roth IRA is attractive for a simple reason: qualified withdrawals are entirely tax-free, and there are no required minimum distributions during the original owner's lifetime. The catch is that direct contributions are limited by income. For 2026, the IRS phases out Roth IRA eligibility between $153,000 and $168,000 of modified

Higher contribution limits and generous plan features at many Bay Area employers create room to shelter far more than the headline 401(k) number. Each fall the IRS adjusts retirement plan contribution limits for inflation, and for 2026 the numbers moved up meaningfully. For high-earning technology professionals, the headline employee deferral limit is only the beginning. Many Silicon Valley employers offer plan features that, used together, can allow well over $70,000 per y

Spending From Your Roth IRA While Converting a Traditional IRA at Low Tax Rates A retirement-income strategy from Propulsion Capital Management For many retirees, the years between leaving work and the start of required minimum distributions (RMDs) are the most valuable tax-planning window of their lives — and the most commonly wasted. Income is low, the paycheck has stopped, and RMDs haven’t started yet. That combination opens a door: the chance to move money out of a tax-de