Tax Strategy
Tax planning is not something that happens in April. It is something that happens every day your money is positioned.
Who This Is For
This service is for individuals with complex income sources, significant investment portfolios, or business interests where proactive tax planning can materially reduce lifetime tax burden. If your financial situation involves more than a W-2 and a 401(k), structured tax strategy adds measurable value.
What We Do
Year-Round Tax Position Management
Charlotte monitors your tax position throughout the year — not just at filing time. Capital gains harvesting, loss recognition, Roth conversion windows, and charitable giving timing are coordinated quarterly.
Asset Location Optimization
Where your investments are held matters as much as what they are. We position tax-inefficient assets in tax-deferred accounts and tax-efficient assets in taxable accounts to maximize after-tax returns.
Business Owner Tax Planning
For business owners, tax strategy extends to entity structure, compensation design, retirement plan selection, and succession timing. Each decision has compounding tax consequences.
Coordination with Your CPA
We work directly with your accountant to ensure investment decisions and tax filings are aligned. The advisory strategy and the tax return should tell the same story.
The Process
Discovery
A 45-minute conversation to understand your situation, goals, and priorities.
Analysis
Charlotte and Richard review your financial picture in detail — accounts, documents, tax returns, estate plans.
Design
A comprehensive strategy is designed, presented, and refined based on your feedback.
Implementation
Every recommendation is executed, coordinated across accounts, advisors, and institutions.
The Business Exit
An NVC business owner who sold a business after 20 years navigated the tax complexity of the exit with a structured strategy that coordinated capital gains, estate planning, and portfolio construction.
Read the full story →The NVC Ecosystem
We work closely with Winston Abara at NVC Accounting when a client's tax situation requires both advisory strategy and active accounting support.
Explore Further
Frequently Asked Questions
Is tax planning the same as tax preparation?
No. Tax preparation is backward-looking — filing what happened. Tax planning is forward-looking — positioning your finances to minimize what will happen. We do the planning; your CPA does the preparation.
How much can tax strategy actually save?
The impact varies significantly by situation. For clients with complex portfolios, the difference between optimized and unoptimized tax positioning can be 0.5-1.5% of portfolio value annually — which compounds meaningfully over decades.
Do you replace my CPA?
No. We complement your CPA. Charlotte provides the investment and planning strategy; your CPA executes the filings. We coordinate with them directly.
What about estate and gift tax planning?
Estate and gift tax strategies are integrated with your overall tax plan. Lifetime gifting, generation-skipping transfers, and charitable vehicles all have tax implications that we model in advance.
If this describes your situation, a Discovery Call is the right first step.
Schedule a Discovery Call →Fiduciary Commitment
Charlotte Westbrook (CFP®, CFA) and Richard Van Meer (CFP®, CIMA®) serve as fiduciaries. They are legally and ethically bound to act in your interest. Meridian Wealth Group is a fee-only registered investment adviser — no commissions, no proprietary products, no conflicts of interest.
Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investments involve risk and are not guaranteed. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer or solicitation.