What if you could pull $100,000 from your portfolio this year to live on, but only $30,000 or $40,000 of it actually counted as taxable income? It sounds too good to be true, but for a lot of retirees, it's completely possible. In this episode, I break down a strategy called income stacking, how to pull from cash, brokerage, IRA, and Roth accounts in the right combination, and why paying $0 in taxes isn't always the smartest move.

Tune into this episode to find out:

(00:18) The $100,000 question: what if only $30–40K of it was actually taxable?

(00:42) Why retirement gives you control over how your paycheck—and your taxes—are built

(01:03) The #1 mistake: treating withdrawals as "one account at a time"

(02:18) Introducing income stacking and how it reframes your withdrawal strategy

(03:03) Why Social Security can be taxed anywhere from 0% to 85%

(03:36) A real example: building $100,000 of income from four different account types

(05:39) How the standard deduction makes your first IRA dollars tax-free

(06:21) The 0% long-term capital gains bracket (and how high it actually goes)

(08:48) Why paying $0 in taxes isn't always the goal

(09:36) The smarter target: filling up the right tax brackets on purpose

(11:39) How managing your IRA today can reduce tomorrow's Social Security taxes

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Email: jacob@rivertreewealth.com

Website: https://www.rivertreewealth.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobduke

Jacob Duke, CFP, MBA is the founder of Rivertree Wealth and the host of the Retirement Answers podcast.

DISCLAIMER: This should not be taken as tax, legal, or investment advice. All content is for educational purposes only.