Sean Mullaney is an advice-only financial planner and the President of Mullaney Financial & Tax, Inc. Through Mullaney Financial & Tax, Sean provides advice-only financial planning for a flat fee. Sean writes the Plutus Award winning blog FITaxGuy.com on the intersection of tax and financial independence. He also has a personal finance YouTube channel and wrote Solo 401(k): The Solopreneur’s Retirement Account.
Sean has discussed personal finance and tax on numerous podcasts, including ChooseFI, The Stacking Benjamins Show, How to Money, and BiggerPockets Money. He has been quoted in media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and MarketWatch.
Sean entered financial planning as a career changer. In his previous career he worked for Deloitte & Touche and PwC, including over 6 years in PwC’s Washington National Tax Services practice. Sean is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in California and Virginia. He is a member of Measure Twice Planners and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. For more on Sean’s professional background, please visit his LinkedIn profile here.
Sean and his wife Catherine live in Woodland Hills, California. Outside of professional pursuits, he enjoys spending time with his wife, travel, the comedy of Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, and New York Jets football.
You can follow Sean on X here.
Mullaney Financial & Tax, Inc. (“MFT”) is an accountancy corporation licensed by the California Board of Accountancy and is a registered investment advisor registered with the state of California. Sean Mullaney is the investment adviser representative of Mullaney Financial & Tax, Inc.
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enjoyed your QBI posts…..thanks!
Thanks for appearing on the “how to money” podcast. Didn’t expect to enjoy tax talk as much as I did.
Hi Sean,
Hope all is well!
Could you add our podcast interview as well?
https://www.inspiretofire.com/the-power-of-the-roth-ira-for-financial-independence/
I enjoyed our tax talk and it’s been one of the most popular episodes to date!
Thanks again,
Chris
Hi, Love all the tax information you provide, thank you! In the article, “THE SOLO 401(K) TRAP” shouldn’t we also consider the value of the premium health tax credit and how reducing MAGI via traditional solo 401(K) contributions could increase the amount of premium health tax credit? It’s not just about the QBI deduction, right? Would a higher premium health tax credit “balance out” the value lost you discussed in the article? What are your thoughts?
Tricia, thank you for reading and commenting. I appreciate it.
You’re absolutely correct that those on ACA plans should consider the PTC when assessing a Solo 401(k). It’s a multi-variable calculus, no doubt. I wrote about using Solo 401(k)s to reduce one’s MAGI for Premium Tax Credit purposes here: https://fitaxguy.com/three-ways-the-solo-401k-supports-financial-independence/
Thanks for the article on Section 199a dividends. Can you confirm that there are no benefits to having section 199a dividends if your REIT security is in an IRA, rather than an after-tax account?
Thank you for reading and commenting. I can’t say there are no benefits to having a REIT in a traditional IRA (tax deferred growth would be a benefit), but there are no QBI benefits to holding a REIT inside a traditional IRA. A REIT dividend withdrawn from a traditional IRA will be subject to 100% ordinary income tax, while a REIT dividend received from a taxable brokerage account will (effectively) be subject to an 80% ordinary income tax. Two caveats though: 1) the taxpayer (generally speaking) gets to choose the timing of the taxation of a REIT dividend in a traditional IRA. They can take it out when they want to (subject to the RMD rules) while taxpayers do not get to choose the timing of dividends paid in taxable accounts and 2) at higher incomes, REIT dividends in taxable accounts are subject to the net investment income tax, while traditional IRA withdrawals are not subject to the net investment income tax.
The above said, there are many factors that go into investment allocation and tax basketing. Losing the QBI deduction by holding REITs inside a traditional IRA is one of many factors to consider.
Hi Sean, do you have any information/tax strategies for very high income earners (over $500k)? Done all the usual stuff above in addition to cash balance plan, but still huge tax bill. Any articles on this or suggestions? Thanks.
Hi Sean,
I’m a slightly late starter, 41, physician. I just found out my job offers Roth 403B as well as traditional 403B. I’m having a hard time doing backdoor Roth because I have traditional IRA and SEP. my jobs 403B Roth is not income based, I can contribute 23K between the 2 accounts whatever percent split I want, they do 6% match which goes pre tax. Is there any benefit to doing some money in the Roth or should I keep all of it pre tax? If you think Roth is a good idea how should I decide the split? This year maxed pre tax. Thanks for your help. I do have quite a bit saved between traditional IRA, one Roth, SEP, 401K and taxable brokerage so not sure I truly count as late starter.
Beth, thanks for commenting. Unfortunately, I cannot provide advice to individuals with respect to specific situations on the blog.
Hi Sean,
I have a question. Physician, 41 outside income limits for Roth. I just found out my job has a 403B Roth not income based. I was having a hard time with backdoor Roth because I have traditional IRAs and SEP, etc. I can contribute max 23K between pre tax and Roth and divide any way I want. Do you have any advice, especially for those whom it’s difficult to set up backdoor roth