Originally published in Financial Planning

By Lyle Benson

For financial planners and accountants alike, this tax season yielded many more client questions about their financial future than in years past. That’s largely due to the new tax law and its implications for 2018 returns. Clients want to make sure they are adjusting their financial plans accordingly.

At my firm, we spent countless hours analyzing the new law to understand how it would impact our clients. We worked to implement last-minute tax planning strategies so our clients could get ahead of the changes coming in the 2018 filing season. And as we were preparing 2017 tax returns, we ran tax projections, calculated estimates and came up with various strategies that will allow our clients to achieve their financial goals while also minimizing their tax bill in the future.

Now that the rush of tax season is over, accountants can turn your attention to some planning of their own. During these times of huge changes in the tax code, we can provide a lot of value for our clients.

In fact, it’s hard to see an area of financial planning that taxes don’t touch, be it retirement, college funding, health care, investing or estate planning. Yet some financial advisors aren’t looking at planning through this lens.

Read the full story at https://www.financial-planning.com/opinion/why-more-cpas-should-become-financial-planners?brief=00000153-6773-d15a-abd7-efff45d10000

Lyle K. Benson, CPA/PFS is the president and founder of L.K. Benson & Co. in Baltimore.