The Bird’s Eye View:

Since we aren’t able to bring David McKnight to Kansas City for an in-person appearance, we decided to do the next best thing and bring him on the podcast. Join us as the author and tax planning expert gives us his perspective of what we’re experiencing with a turbulent economy and what opportunities investors have to move closer to a zero percent tax bracket.

Your Guide:

We’ve been excited for a while to bring David McKnight back to Kansas City to spend some time with people who want tax-planning guidance. Unfortunately, that plan had to be delayed due to the coronavirus health crisis.

But this is such an important time financially. With taxes at historically-low levels and debt rising rapidly, we thought it would be very valuable to hear from McKnight, even in a scaled-down capacity. He was gracious enough to accept an invitation onto the podcast so we could discuss a number of different tax-planning topics.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to hear from McKnight or read any of his books, go visit his website here. We reference one of his books, The Power of Zero, all the time with clients and even have copies available if you’re interested. All you have to do is reach out to our office.

And that goal of moving into the zero percent tax bracket has never been more accessible. The current tax plan runs to 2026 but the question is what happens after that? Many people assume and expect rates to rise, especially on the heels of multiple stimulus packages being rolled out to help Americans with this financial crisis. Just take a look at the US Debt Clock. That debt total is about to cross $25 trillion when this podcast was released and continues to climb higher and higher.

McKnight believes this is a tremendous opportunity for investors to move money into tax-free accounts and move closer to that goal of zero. Keep in mind that you might no be able to get all of your money into that tax bracket, but it’s important to try because there’s a jump to the next bracket. And that might be even higher by the time your taxes are due.

So he’ll share his perspective on what we’re witnessing right now and what that means for you. What tax-planning options are available right now and why is this such a crucial time? He’ll take us through that and then share some final words of wisdom.

Make sure to keep an eye on McKnight’s website because his new book will be published in November of this year. Don’t forget to ask us about it either because we’ll likely have more copies on hand. And stay tuned for details on when we can expect the author to visit again.

Let’s get the show started. Feel free to use the timestamps below by clicking on them to skip around to specific topics. 

1:02 – Special guest David McKnight joins us on the show today.

1:21 – Some background on David.

2:22 – What has the coronavirus done to the economy and how will it effect tax rates in the future?

3:36 – As the national deficit increases, politicians have two options.

5:15 – The state of the economy now that the health crisis has hit.

6:55 – Our job as advisors is to navigate the current circumstances. What options or opportunities are available now?

11:16 – How we’re working with clients right now.

12:12 – If you can’t get to the zero tax bracket, what’s the next best thing?

13:50 – Last words of wisdom from David.

16:07 – If you want to get a copy of the book, here’s what we’re doing for listeners.

17:18 – David’s new book is coming out earlier. 

Thanks for checking out the Your Retirement Elevated Podcast. We’ll talk to you again on the next show.

Your Guide:

Scott Dougan, RFC, Investment Advisor – Contact