High‑Net‑Worth Individuals: Executives & Professional Athletes
Executives and professional athletes often experience compressed earning windows, income volatility, and public scrutiny, all of which heighten the importance of proactive tax strategy.
Key Planning Themes:
- Income acceleration and deferral awareness
- Signing bonuses, performance incentives, equity vesting, and endorsement income can push taxpayers into the highest marginal brackets if not carefully managed.
- Equity compensation complexity
- Stock options, restricted stock, and performance awards require deliberate planning around vesting, exercise, and liquidity events.
- Multi‑state and residency issues
- Travel schedules, duty‑day sourcing, and domicile planning are critical to managing state tax exposure.
- Legacy and wealth transfer planning
- Peak earning years provide a unique opportunity to fund trusts, execute gifting strategies, and support philanthropic goals tax‑efficiently.
Strategic insight: High income should be used to build permanent tax efficiency—NOT just pay temporary tax bills.