How can I reduce taxes on my investments?
By Adam Kasick | Wealth Advisor | Updated September 2026
Investment tax efficiency usually starts with understanding which assets you own, which accounts hold them, your realized and unrealized gains, your income and what you may need to sell or spend. The right strategy depends on the full tax picture.
Here's how I'd think about it.
Before jumping to a product or transaction, I want to understand what changed, what this money needs to do and which decisions actually deserve attention now.
What could change the answer?
- Which accounts are taxable, tax-deferred or tax-free?
- Do you have concentrated gains or losses?
- What is your expected income this year and in future years?
- Are charitable gifts or major liquidity events part of the plan?
Let's make this real.
Hypothetical example. For illustrative purposes only.
Imagine someone has done a great job building wealth but a major part of the financial picture no longer has a clearly defined job. The answer isn't automatically to invest, sell or move it. The first step is understanding the purpose, timing and tradeoffs. Once those are clear, the available choices become much easier to evaluate.
Here's what I'd want to know about you.
- What do you want this money to accomplish?
- When might you need it?
- What else do you own?
- What are you most worried about getting wrong?
- If we improved this part of your financial life, what would that allow you to do?
I don't want investment strategy and tax strategy having separate conversations about the same dollar. The goal is to make the decisions together.
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