[dgildeh]

Thanks for the info - funnily enough after I posted this I spoke to a tax strategist this morning who also laid out a bunch of things we could do to reduce our tax bill. The problem as you say, is this type of person isn't accessible to most people, and expensive!

[stouset]

/r/personalfinance is a phenomenal resource where this kind of info is freely available, and the advice therein more or less obviates the need for tax strategists and financial advisors for what I'd estimate is something like 80% of people.

There's even crazier options like the Mega Backdoor which require working at a company with an excellent benefits package. When combined with a normal Roth backdoor and an HSA, they allow a high earner to set aside $22,500 in a traditional 401(k) and $50,000 in Roth accounts, for $72,500 in tax-advantaged savings every year. With the information from my previous comment, this means that every year you do this equates to $50,000/yr you can spend in early retirement completely tax- and penalty-free

It's absolutely insane to me and also completely indefensible that simple access to this level of tax-avoidance is available to people based on their employer. Someone who earns the same level of income but at a different employer without a 401(k) only has the opportunity to set aside $6,500 (solely in a Roth IRA). And even doing that requires knowing about the backdoor "trick".