Financial Planning That Accounts for the Tax Picture
When your financial planner is also your tax preparer, your investment decisions and your tax strategy finally work together — not around each other.
The Problem With Keeping Your Advisor and Your Accountant in Separate Corners
Most people work with a financial advisor at one firm and a tax preparer somewhere else. Neither one sees the full picture, and the coordination that should happen between them rarely does. A Roth conversion gets recommended without running the tax projection. A capital gains harvest happens in November without a call to the accountant. A 401(k) contribution level gets set based on the portfolio — not on what your actual tax liability looks like that year.
As both a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and an IRS Enrolled Agent, I handle both sides of that equation. When a financial decision has a tax consequence — and most of them do — I can evaluate it with the full context in front of me. That's not something you get when two separate professionals are each working from a partial view of your finances.
Financial planning services at Benscoter Accounting Solutions are available to existing tax clients and qualified new clients in Levittown, Bucks County, and surrounding communities. This is a focused, relationship-based service — not a high-volume product.
What Financial Planning With a CFP and Enrolled Agent Includes
Financial planning here is built around the intersection of investment strategy and tax efficiency. Services are offered through my affiliation with Equitable and are subject to applicable regulatory requirements and disclosures.
Planning conversations typically cover:
- Retirement account contributions — evaluating the right account types (traditional, Roth, SEP-IRA) based on your current income and tax situation
- Asset allocation review — looking at how your investments are structured relative to your goals and time horizon
- Distribution strategy — planning for how and when to draw from retirement accounts in a tax-efficient sequence
- Capital gains and loss planning — coordinating investment activity with your annual tax return to reduce unnecessary exposure
- Financial goal planning — savings targets, education funding, and major purchase timelines
This page does not address legal document preparation, trust administration, or estate planning services. For Pennsylvania inheritance tax matters, that work is handled separately under tax preparation.
Investment advisory services involve risk, including the potential loss of principal. No investment outcomes are guaranteed. All planning is conducted within the disclosure and compliance framework required by Equitable and applicable securities regulations.
CFP-Level Guidance Without Private-Wealth-Management Pricing
Large wealth management firms set their minimums high and their fees to match. If you're a working professional, a small business owner, or a family building toward retirement, you may not clear those thresholds — but your financial questions are just as real.
The same value-focused pricing model that applies to tax services at Benscoter Accounting Solutions applies here. You get access to a CFP who also prepares your tax return, reviews your retirement account structure, and can flag a tax-planning opportunity before it closes — without the overhead of a private wealth management relationship.
If you're based in Levittown, Bristol, Warrington, or elsewhere in Lower Bucks County and you've been managing your finances without a coordinated plan, this is a straightforward place to start that conversation.
Is Financial Planning Right for You?
What's the difference between a CFP and a regular financial advisor?
A Certified Financial Planner has completed a rigorous education and examination process and is held to a fiduciary standard in financial planning engagements. Not everyone who uses the title "financial advisor" holds a CFP designation. Working with a CFP means your planner has demonstrated competency across retirement, tax, investment, and estate planning topics — not just product sales.Do I need a financial planner if I already have an accountant?
An accountant prepares your tax return based on what happened last year. A financial planner helps you make decisions that affect what your tax return will look like in the future. The two roles are complementary, and having them handled by the same person — as is the case here — means your planning decisions are evaluated with your actual tax situation in view, not in isolation from it.What does "tax-aware financial planning" mean in practice?
It means that investment decisions — contribution levels, account types, timing of withdrawals, capital gains activity — are evaluated with your current and projected tax liability in mind. For example, whether a Roth conversion makes sense in a given year depends heavily on your income, deductions, and marginal rate. A planner who also prepares your taxes can run that analysis with real numbers, not estimates.Is there a minimum investment or account size to work with you on financial planning?
Financial planning services here are structured around the client relationship, not an asset minimum. The best starting point is a consultation to discuss your current situation and what you're trying to accomplish. Services are offered to existing tax clients and qualified new clients across Bucks County and surrounding areas.How is financial planning different from the tax preparation services you offer?
Tax preparation is a backward-looking process — it accounts for income, deductions, and events that already occurred. Financial planning is forward-looking — it helps you structure decisions now to reduce tax exposure, build toward retirement, and align your savings with your goals. The two services reinforce each other, which is the primary reason clients find value in having both handled in one place.