Financial planning is a process. There is no exact science to it, and it can take years before you come up with a financial plan that works for you. Even then, the best financial plan will be fully flexible and open to change because it is not uncommon for unexpected changes to crop up from time to time.
There are all sorts of personal and external conditions that might lead to you having to change your financial plan. These could include things such as your taxes, which is why you might be wondering “how might taxes have an impact on your financial plan”.
And that’s a good question! In this guide, we’ll be taking a look at how taxes may have an impact on your financial plan, and lots more. So if you want to find out more, keep on reading!
What Does Your Financial Plan Consider?
As we said earlier, financial planning is a process. No two financial plans are the same, and financial planning will mean different things to different people. This is because different people may be planning for different things, one person may plan for retirement, while another might plan to create generational wealth through investment.
But no matter the aim of your financial plan, it is fairly standard for the same things to be considered in your financial plan. Some of the main things that will be considered in a financial plan are as follows:
- Financial goals (wealth accumulation, property goals, retirement goals)
- Income and expenditure statements
- Net worth statement (current)
- Debt management plan
- Risk tolerance & appetite
- Estate planning
- Insurance cover
If you do your financial planning well, then all these different things will be incorporated into your plan, and you will take them into account when it comes to money. To a certain extent, this will mean that your financial plan will protect you against unexpected expenses. But of course, this isn’t always possible.
There are all sorts of expenses that might crop up that you may not have expected. This coil includes something as simple as your tax bill being higher than you anticipated. So how can your taxes impact your financial plan? Let’s take a look.
How Might Taxes Have An Impact On Your Financial Plan?
There are lots of ways that your taxes could have an impact on your financial plan. As we have just said, your taxes for one year could end up being higher than you anticipated, and this could throw your financial plan into disarray. Or, your taxes could impact your financial plan when you are in the process of setting it up.
Managing your taxes is a huge part of your financial plan. How you manage your taxes in your financial plan may also be impacted by what your financial goals are, whether you plan on saving for retirement, and lots more.
If your financial plan involves the use of assets, then you will need to be clever in your financial decisions to ensure that you do not end up paying huge amounts of tax on these assets. For example, holding assets for longer than a year will ensure that they are classed as “long-term” assets, and as a result, you will pay less tax on them if you sell them.
Managing your taxes within your financial plan can also help a great deal when it comes to things such as capital gains tax too. Of course, this is without even referring back to our original point about how unexpected high tax rates can impact your financial plan.
As you can see, some of these things can be accounted for in your financial plan, but others cannot. But as long as you keep on top of your finances, it should be fairly easy to amend and alter your financial plan to account for this.
Why Taxes Are Important At All Stages Of Life?
No matter how old you are, your taxes are incredibly important, and managing them is totally critical. Keeping on top of your taxes will not only ensure that you stay on the good side of the IRS, but it will also ensure that you get a good handle on your finances.
If you are young and you are simply living your life and trying to enjoy yourself, then keeping on top of your taxes is very important. Managing your taxes only becomes more important as you get older.
Should you be saving for retirement, then keeping a handle on your taxes and taking steps to protect your finances is critical. Setting aside money into the correct types of funds and investing it into certain assets can really help you take advantage of tax breaks, ensuring that you make and save more money.
Summary
In short, there are lots of ways that taxes might impact your financial plan. Unexpectedly high taxes could end up throwing a spanner in the works of your financial plan. Likewise, if you are simply making your financial plan for the year, then you may factor your taxes into your plan from the start.
No matter how your taxes impact your financial plan, it is clear that you must take your taxes into account when making a financial plan. Thanks for reading!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Might Taxes Have An Impact On A Person’s Financial Plan?
Aside from the things that we have already covered in this guide, another way in which your taxes may impact your financial plan is that they influence how much of your income you can actually keep. Once your taxes have been removed from your personal finance plan, this will give you a better idea of how much money you can afford to spend that year.
Why Are Taxes An Important Part Of Your Financial Plan?
Taxes play a huge part in your financial plan when it comes to affordability. Without taking your taxes into account, it is pretty much impossible to determine how much money you actually have to spend. So taking your taxes into account is critical
Paul Martinez is the founder of EcomSidekick.com. He is an expert in the areas of finance, real estate, eCommerce, traffic and conversion.
Join him on EcomSidekick.com to learn how to improve your financial life and excel in these areas. Before starting this media site, Paul built from scratch and managed two multi-million dollar companies. One in the real estate sector and one in the eCommerce sector.