W-2 household · 5 rentals · 4 states
"Our W-2 taxes are getting slaughtered." Cost seg on the highest-basis property, LLC titling fixes on two more, and a 1031 path their old preparer never raised.
Who we help · Segment 02 · $250K+ household
If your household clears $250K and your W-2 taxes feel like a one-way street, there are exits your preparer never showed you.
High W-2 income is the hardest income to plan around. Most preparers will tell you there's nothing to do. That's because most preparers don't know about the rentals, the RSUs, the equity events, the cost seg study, the STR loophole, the entity restructure on the side business, the moves that actually shift the W-2 picture. We do.
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This is you if
Your household looks like one of these. The W-2 isn't the problem. The lack of strategy around it is.
- Dual-income couple at $250K–$600K combined and you got crushed in April
- One W-2 plus one side business generating $30K–$150K and no entity strategy
- RSU vesting events that push your AGI up and you don't have a sell plan
- One to three rental properties held in personal name with no cost seg done
- Sold a house recently and the capital gain blew up your bracket
- Tech, finance, healthcare W-2 with equity comp and no AMT modeling
- STR / Airbnb on the side and nobody mentioned the STR loophole
- HSA-eligible and nobody told you about mega-backdoor or NQDC stacking
What you're done with
Your preparer is telling you "there's nothing to do." There's plenty to do.
Three real things real $250K+ households told us in the last 90 days. Anonymized, verbatim where possible.
Our W-2 taxes are getting slaughtered. We thought setting up our LLCs would help. We just didn't know enough.
$450K HHI · 5 rentals · Apr 2026
TurboTax sucks. After $250K, you shouldn't be doing TurboTax. You want to start finding ways to avoid taxes, not just pay them.
$290K W-2 + side LLC · Mar 2026
I'm not looking for compliance. I can do compliance. I'm looking for strategy. I'm looking for someone to protect what I'm building.
$520K W-2 + RSUs · Feb 2026
The moves that lower a $250K+ household's tax bill aren't on your W-2 form. They're in your rentals, your side income, your equity comp, your retirement vehicles, and the cost-seg work nobody's run yet. We find them. We dollarize them. We rank them.
What we'd actually do for you
Six moves. Most aren't on your return today.
The Tax Analysis surfaces every one of these and dollarizes the impact. Here's the typical playbook when you're in this segment.
- 01
Cost segregation on every rental you own
Accelerated depreciation on the components of the property (carpet, fixtures, parking, landscaping) gives you front-loaded losses, if you qualify. A cost seg study can speed up depreciation on a rental. If you are not a real estate professional and your rental is long-term, the loss usually waits for future income or a sale via the STR loophole or real estate professional status.
- 02
STR loophole if you have a short-term rental
If your average guest stay is 7 days or less, the passive rental rules do not apply automatically. The loss can offset W-2 pay only if you materially take part and log your hours. Other limits apply, and the IRS checks this closely. Many W-2 households do not qualify, so verify before you count on it.
- 03
S-corp the side business correctly
If the side business makes about $50,000, an S-corp may not save much. If your W-2 pay is already above the Social Security wage base, the saving is only on the Medicare part. You must also pay yourself a fair salary, and the IRS checks this. We compare the saving to the cost.
- 04
Equity comp + RSU sell plan
RSU vesting bumps you into higher brackets. Sometimes an ISO exercise triggers AMT; an NSO exercise is taxed as pay when you exercise and has no AMT adjustment. Sometimes QSBS Section 1202 exclusion is on the table. We model the vesting calendar against the bracket math and write the sell plan.
- 05
Retirement vehicle stacking
Mega-backdoor Roth, HSA plus limited-purpose FSA (LPFSA), after-tax 401(k), NQDC if you have it, Cash Balance plan if you have side-business income. How much you can shelter depends on your plans at work and your side income; we find what is open to you.
- 06
Entity titling fix on the rentals
Holding a rental in an LLC can add liability protection. It does not change the tax deductions. We check your loan and title terms before any move, and surface what the prior preparer should have caught.
Recent $250K+ household results
Three real households. Three different problems.
Anonymized. Recent engagements with $250K+ households.
W-2 + STR Airbnb
Single Airbnb running short-term-rental scope. Material participation documented. Cost seg study run. The STR loophole generated paper losses against W-2 income in year one.
W-2 + RSU vesting
Tech executive with significant RSU vests every quarter. Rebuilt sell plan to manage brackets, opened mega-backdoor, restructured side LLC as S-corp.
Which tier fits
For most $250K+ households, Comprehensive is the right tier.
Multi-entity scope (rentals + side LLC + W-2), multi-state if rentals are out of state, full advisory delivery. The featured tier and what 70% of our clients land on.
Recommended for this segment
Tax Analysis · Comprehensive tier
$5,095 flat
3-year scope · multi-entity · multi-state · cost seg + STR + 1031 modeling · RSU + equity comp planning · retirement stacking · ranked next-step list.
If you have 3+ entities, syndication positions, or $1M+ HHI, we'll route you to Strategic ($10,095) on the Discovery call. If your situation is simpler (one rental, no equity comp), Standard ($2,595) may fit.
Next step
One 20-minute call. We confirm the moves and the right tier.
The Discovery call is where we look at your W-2 picture, your rental picture, your equity comp, and your side income. If we don't see real opportunity, we say so. If we do, we'll have you in the analysis within 48 hours.
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