Tax and financial planning guides
Learn to manage your money better. Straight answers on taxes, investing, cash flow, and retirement from the Nino finance team.
Roth IRA contribution and income limits for 2026
The 2026 IRA contribution limit is $7,500, or $8,600 at age 50+. Income and contributions to other IRAs may reduce your Roth IRA allowance.
HSA contribution limits for 2026
The 2026 HSA limit is $4,400 for self-only coverage or $8,750 for family coverage. Eligibility, employer deposits, and Medicare can change your limit.
What is tax-loss harvesting?
Selling an investment at a loss can offset taxable gains. Learn the steps, see an example, and avoid wash-sale mistakes.
What is the net investment income tax (NIIT)?
NIIT is a 3.8% tax on certain investment income above income thresholds. See who pays, what counts, and how to calculate it.
What is a mega backdoor Roth?
Some 401(k) plans let you make extra after-tax contributions and move them to Roth. Learn the required plan features and how to calculate your available room.
401(k) contribution limits for 2026
The 2026 employee limit is $24,500. See age-based catch-ups, employer contribution limits, and the Roth catch-up rule.
Fee-Only vs. Fee-Based Financial Advisors: What Actually Changes?
Fee-only and fee-based describe how an advisor can be paid, not the quality of the plan. Compare compensation, conflicts, fiduciary duty, tax coordination, and total dollar cost.
How to Avoid an AMT Surprise When You Exercise ISOs
Exercising incentive stock options can create alternative minimum tax before you sell a share. Use this framework to size the exercise, preserve cash, and avoid a year-end surprise.
When Should You Exercise Stock Options?
Exercise stock options when the tax, cash cost, expiration risk, and company concentration fit one plan. This framework compares ISOs, NSOs, private-company risk, and holding periods.
What is a backdoor Roth IRA?
A backdoor Roth combines a nondeductible IRA contribution with a Roth conversion. Existing pre-tax IRA balances determine how much of the conversion is taxable.
What is MAGI? How it differs from AGI
Modified adjusted gross income starts with AGI, then changes for the tax or benefit being tested. Compare the Roth IRA, NIIT, Medicare, and Marketplace definitions.
Tax Strategies for High-Income W-2 Employees
Start with a full-year projection, then compare pretax benefits, equity withholding, investment sales, and charitable giving.
What Does a CPA Plus a Financial Advisor Cost With RSUs?
Add the invoices, check which equity work is included, and assign ownership of withholding, sales, and tax filing.
A Tax and Cash Checklist for an Equity Liquidity Event
Before a tender offer, IPO-related sale, or acquisition, identify the taxable event, reserve cash, and reconcile your stock records.
RSU Tax Withholding and Sell-to-Cover
How employers fund RSU taxes, why withholding can miss your final bill, and how to check the gap before you file.
Do Roth conversions count as income?
The taxable part of a Roth conversion adds to ordinary income. See how basis, tax brackets, Medicare premiums, and other income tests affect the decision.
Why Are RSUs Taxed So High?
RSUs use ordinary income-tax rates. Learn why total withholding can look high and why it can still fall short of your final bill.
What Is a Flat-Fee Financial Advisor?
A flat-fee advisor charges a dollar amount instead of a percentage of your portfolio. Compare the math, included services, and questions to ask before signing.
How Much Does a Crypto Tax Accountant Cost?
Crypto tax fees depend on record cleanup and return complexity. Compare software, reconciliation, filing, and representation as separate services.
Domain Money Alternatives: Compare Cost and Ongoing Support
Compare Nino, Facet, and Range with Domain Money, including first-year fees, renewals, required services, and software access.
Nino Is Live in Beta
A look back at Nino’s beta: accounts, equity scenarios, and financial questions in one place, with a human team to help.
What happens when you die without a will?
State law determines who inherits probate property when there is no will. Beneficiary designations, surviving parents, and state rules still matter.
Facet Alternatives: Compare Planning, Tax Filing, and Software
Compare Nino, Range, and Domain Money with Facet by required services, annual cost, tax-filing scope, and access to software.
ISO vs. NSO: Tax Differences and a Worked Example
ISOs can create AMT before a sale; NSOs usually create compensation income at exercise. Compare the cash cost and holding-period tradeoffs.
What is a Trump Account? Eligibility and contributions
Trump Accounts are retirement accounts for eligible children. Learn who can open one, how the $1,000 pilot contribution works, and what to check before funding.
Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage or Keep the Cash?
Compare interest saved with after-tax returns, liquidity, and household risk before paying down a mortgage.
529 Plan Changes: Education Uses and Roth Rollovers
529 plans offer more education uses and a limited Roth rollover option. Check account age, contribution limits, and state treatment before moving money.
From Stock Options to Spendable Cash: The Liquidity Math
An equity valuation is not spendable cash. Subtract exercise costs and taxes, then check when your shares can actually be sold.
Should You Sell Employer Stock When It Vests?
A useful sell-or-hold decision weighs tax reserves, company concentration, and cash needs. Here is how to compare them.
How Much Does a Financial Advisor Cost?
Translate percentage, flat, hourly, and project fees into dollars, then compare the services and extra costs in each quote.
What is QSBS? Eligibility and tax exclusion rules
Qualified small business stock may qualify for a federal gain exclusion. Acquisition date, company eligibility, holding period, and basis determine the benefit.
RSUs vs. Stock Options: Ownership, Risk, and Taxes
Compare how RSUs and stock options deliver value, when taxes arise, and what cash you need before choosing an action.
Buy, borrow, die: how it works and what it costs
Borrowing against appreciated assets can defer capital gains tax, but interest, collateral calls, and estate rules can outweigh the benefit.
How to file an 83(b) election
An 83(b) election changes when restricted stock is taxed. Learn when it applies, how to file, and what to check within 30 days of the stock transfer.
Introducing Nino
Why we built Nino: AI software to understand your finances, with optional human help to plan your finances and taxes and put the plan into action.