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CEPA®
AAMS®
AIF®
TDG

Tax considerations play an important role
in shaping long-term financial results.
How you plan matters.

We help clients integrate investment, tax, and financial planning so these decisions can be evaluated together — particularly for individuals and business owners with more complex financial needs.

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Many advisory relationships focus primarily on investment performance. We incorporate tax considerations as part of the overall planning process — to help clients make more informed after-tax decisions over time.

01
The Problem

Investment decisions and tax strategy
often operate independently.

Investment decisions and tax planning often occur separately, which can lead to inefficiencies. When these areas are not coordinated, opportunities to improve after-tax outcomes may be overlooked.

For individuals with higher income or more complex financial situations, integrating tax considerations into the investment process may help support more informed decision-making, though results will vary based on each investor's circumstances.

Our Approach

One integrated
system.

We provide a coordinated approach to investment, tax, and financial strategy. Our process is designed to evaluate these areas together, particularly for clients whose circumstances may benefit from a more comprehensive planning framework.

I

Tax Strategy First

Every financial decision — income structure, investment allocation, business compensation, estate transfers — is evaluated for its tax consequence before execution. Not after.

II

Portfolio Construction

We build portfolios from the ground up with tax efficiency as a structural requirement — not an afterthought. Asset location, factor tilts, tax-lot management, and concentration risk are engineered into the portfolio design before a single position is placed.

III

A Coordinated Framework

Cash flow, retirement income, business succession, and estate planning work best when evaluated together. When tax considerations are included in the process, clients may gain a clearer understanding of how different parts of their plan relate, though outcomes vary based on each person's situation.

Planning Strategies

Two lines
of defense.

Every strategy we deploy falls into one of two categories: keeping income off your Form 1040 in the first place, or offsetting the income that reaches it. Most advisors work only the second line. We work both — simultaneously, and in coordination with your CPA.

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1
Keep Income Off Form 1040
S-Corp Income Splitting
Split business income into salary and K-1 distributions. FICA applies only to the salary portion — net profits flow as distributions, eliminating employment tax on the difference.
Defined Benefit / Cash Balance Plan
The single largest pretax deduction available to high earners. Contributions can exceed $200,000 per year, creating immediate tax savings while building a guaranteed retirement benefit.
Augusta Rule
Rent your personal residence to your business for up to 14 days per year. The rent is excluded from your personal income entirely — and fully deductible to the business.
Hire Your Children
Shift income from your high bracket to your children's lower rate. In 2026, children can earn up to $16,100 tax-free — and wages paid to children under 18 carry no FICA obligation.
Accountable Plan
Reimburse yourself for home office, mileage, business meals, and travel through a properly structured plan. Reimbursements are tax-free to you and fully deductible to the business — no FICA.
Defined Contribution Plans
401(k) with profit sharing, SEP-IRA, and SIMPLE IRA structures sized to your business profile. We select the plan type that maximizes your pretax capacity given your employee count and income level.
C-Corp Management Company
A management company structured as a C-corp receives management fees from your operating entity, taxing that income at the flat 21% corporate rate rather than your 37% marginal rate. The entity becomes a vehicle for fully deductible benefits and a lower-tax capital accumulation structure.
Bonus Depreciation — Section 168(k)
The One Big Beautiful Budget Act made 100% bonus depreciation permanent. Combined with a cost segregation study, a $5M commercial property acquisition can generate a $1.5M first-year deduction — worth over $550,000 in immediate tax savings at a 37% rate.
2
Offset Realized Income
Roth Conversion
Convert pretax retirement assets to Roth during low-income years to eliminate future tax and reduce Required Minimum Distributions. The sophistication is in the timing — and in what we use to offset the income we unlock.
Cost Segregation
Engineers identify building components that qualify for 5-, 7-, and 15-year depreciation schedules. With 100% bonus depreciation now permanent under the OBBBA, a $3M acquisition can generate over $900,000 in first-year deductions — worth $333,000 in immediate tax savings at a 37% rate.
Donor-Advised Fund
Contribute appreciated assets to a DAF, take the deduction at today's higher rate, and direct grants to charity over time. A tax time machine for donors who expect their income to decline.
Charitable Remainder Trust
Contribute appreciated assets to a CRT. The trust sells without triggering capital gains tax, pays you income for life, and passes the remainder to charity. You take a current deduction for the charitable interest.
Qualified Opportunity Fund
Roll capital gains into a QOF to defer recognition for five years. Gains on the QOF investment itself are excluded from income entirely if held for ten years — a powerful exit tool for business sellers.
Concentrated Position Strategies
Clients with large low-basis positions — from a business sale, RSU vesting, or inheritance — have options beyond a taxable sale. Stock loans, collars, variable prepaid forwards, swap funds, and direct indexing each offer a different path to liquidity or diversification without triggering immediate gain.
ESOP
Sell 30–100% of your business to an employee stock ownership plan. Proceeds can be reinvested in qualified domestic securities, deferring capital gains tax indefinitely — and in some cases eliminating it entirely.
Installment Sale
Spread gain recognition from a business or real estate sale across multiple tax years. Keeping annual income below key thresholds can reduce the effective rate on the gain by 10–15 percentage points.
Results

What the
difference looks like.

These are representative outcomes — not promises. But they illustrate what becomes possible when tax strategy is built into the plan from the beginning, not applied at the end.

$4.1M
Preserved on exit
Business owner · Manufacturing · $18M transaction
$380K
Cumulative tax reduction
Maritime pilot · Three-year coordinated strategy
$240K
Annual tax reduction
Physician · Charitable giving & ownership structure

Scenarios are illustrative composites. Specific figures are hypothetical. Individual results vary. Nothing here constitutes tax or legal advice.

Who We Work With

We do not work with everyone.
We work with the right people.

CEPA-Credentialed Exit Planning

Business Owners

$500K – $5M+ annual income

Running a profitable company, planning a sale, or restructuring compensation. The tax consequence of your exit is the single largest variable in what you walk away with. We plan around it — years in advance.

Tax-Integrated Wealth Management

High-Income Professionals

$400K – $2M+ W-2 or 1099

Physicians, attorneys, executives, and partners generating significant income with limited time to manage it. We work with clients whose financial situations may benefit from a more coordinated approach to investment, tax, and financial planning.

Complex Compensation & Tax Planning

Maritime Pilots

High-earning licensed professionals

Licensed maritime pilots whose financial situations have outgrown the planning around them. Compensation structures and retirement arrangements vary across the profession — which is why most generalist advisors aren’t equipped to serve this group well.

Not sure if your situation qualifies? The answer takes five minutes to determine.

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"When was the last time your tax professional came to you with an idea to save you money? If the answer is never — that is the problem we solve."

Marcus Dickerson, CEPA®
Wealth Advisor · The Dickerson Group
How We Work

A more
deliberate
approach.

We focus on anticipation — working to identify decisions that may matter most before they need to be made, so clients have time to evaluate their options.

01

Diagnose

We map where you are overpaying — across income structure, investment allocation, business compensation, and estate exposure. Most clients find the gap is larger than expected.

02

Design

We focus on developing coordinated, multi-year planning strategies rather than looking at each tax year in isolation. This approach helps clients consider how upcoming decisions may affect their broader financial picture.

03

Execute

Implementation is ongoing. We coordinate with your CPA, attorney, and other advisors. Decisions are made with tax consequences visible — not discovered after the fact.

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The Firm

Family-founded.
Independently operated.

Marcus and Jason Dickerson created this firm to offer an approach that brings investment, tax, and financial planning considerations together in a more coordinated way for clients with complex needs.

We help clients understand how these elements connect within their broader financial picture.

Free Resource

Tax Strategy Playbook
for High-Income Earners

A concise guide to structuring income, managing tax exposure, and making more informed financial decisions throughout the year.

Written for professionals and business owners who want more control over what they keep — not just what they earn.

Ready to find out what
you've been leaving behind?

A 30-minute conversation is enough to determine whether there is a meaningful opportunity in your situation. No obligation. No pitch.

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Tax-Aware Investment Management·Integrated CPA Coordination·Retirement Income Planning·Business Succession Strategy·Estate & Legacy Planning·Charitable Giving Optimization·Executive Compensation Planning·Multi-Generational Wealth Transfer·Business Valuation Services·Roth Conversion Strategy·Tax-Loss Harvesting·Exit Planning · CEPA®·Tax-Aware Investment Management·Integrated CPA Coordination·Retirement Income Planning·Business Succession Strategy·Estate & Legacy Planning·Charitable Giving Optimization·Executive Compensation Planning·Multi-Generational Wealth Transfer·Business Valuation Services·Roth Conversion Strategy·Tax-Loss Harvesting·Exit Planning · CEPA®·