Finvest

Your guide to paying less tax, legally

Brackets, capital gains, loss harvesting, backdoor Roths, conversions, equity comp, quarterlies, and the 2026 rule changes, explained in plain English with calculators for your own numbers.

Start reading: Chapter 1

15 chapters · 6 calculators · 2026 rules · www.getfinvest.com

Educational material only. This guide is not individualized tax, legal, or investment advice. Limits and rules change; figures here reference 2026 federal rules under the 2025 tax law, with sources throughout.

Part I · How the machine works

How your taxes actually work

The return as a pipeline: income, AGI, deductions, brackets, credits. Marginal vs effective, settled for good.

The 2026 rulebook: what just changed

The 2025 tax law in plain English: what's permanent, what expires in 2028, and the SALT cliff coming in 2030.

Standard or itemized: the math after the new law

One inequality decides it. Who itemizes now, and the bunching play that saves real money.

Part II · Investor taxes

Capital gains and the 12-month line

40.8% vs 23.8%. How gains stack on income through 0/15/20, NIIT, and harvesting gains at 0% in low years.

Tax-loss harvesting without the foot-guns

What a harvested loss is worth, the 61-day wash-sale window, and when not to harvest at all.

Asset location: same portfolio, lower taxes

Bonds in the 401(k), index funds in taxable, growth in the Roth. The placement table and the 20-year payoff.

Part III · The shelters

The account stack, tax edition

Every 2026 limit in one place and the after-tax fate of a dollar in each account.

The backdoor and the mega backdoor

Step by step, with the pro-rata trap worked in real numbers and the Form 8606 paper trail.

Roth conversions: filling brackets on purpose

The low-income window, bracket filling, and the four taxes a conversion can trigger, including IRMAA two years later.

Part IV · Work and life

Equity comp: the taxes nobody withholds right

The 22% withholding gap, the double-tax basis error, ESPP dispositions, and ISOs meeting the tighter 2026 AMT.

Self-employment: quarterlies, QBI, and the S-corp question

SE tax mechanics, safe harbors that end penalty fear, the permanent 20% QBI deduction, and an honest S-corp breakeven.

Charitable giving that actually counts

The new non-itemizer deduction, the 0.5% floor, appreciated stock, donor-advised funds, and QCDs.

Part V · Defense & playbook

State taxes and moving

Domicile vs residency, remote-work double taxation, exit audits, and what a no-tax-state move really saves.

Withholding, notices, and staying out of trouble

The W-4 tune-up, CP2000 letters decoded, what actually triggers audits, and the records that matter forever.

The year-end playbook

Every move on a calendar, a 35-term glossary, and the 2026 reference table with sources.