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Eric Hunt CPA

16133 Ventura Blvd, Suite 700, Encino, CA 91436
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Serving Individuals and Businesses Since 1999

Retirement Planning Expert in Los Angeles

Saving for retirement is the part people focus on. Keeping what you saved is the part that decides how long it lasts, and in California that comes down to taxes.

A retirement planning expert in Los Angeles has to work with a state that treats retirement money unlike anywhere else. California collects nothing on your Social Security, taxes nearly every other dollar you withdraw, and adds a penalty of its own if you touch the money early. Eric M Hunt holds a CPA license and a Master of Science in Taxation, and has spent more than 20 years on California tax questions. More on who you will work with.

What follows is the knowledge this planning rests on, including a federal rule that changed in January and now affects most high earners in this city.

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Satisfied Clients

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The California Rules

What a Retirement Planning Expert in Los Angeles Should Know About California

Three state rules shape almost every decision, and all three are confirmed in the Franchise Tax Board guidelines.

what a retirement planning expert in los angeles should know about california

California Does Not Tax Social Security

The FTB states plainly that California does not tax Social Security benefits. They come off your state return even though part of them may be taxable federally. That makes Social Security the most state-efficient income you will receive, which matters when you decide what age to claim. The rule sits in the FTB pension guidelines, and note that foreign Social Security does not get the same treatment.

Everything Else Is Taxed as Ordinary Income

Pensions, 401(k) withdrawals, and traditional IRA distributions are treated much as they are federally, and California residents are taxed on all of it regardless of where the money was earned. There is no senior exclusion, no pension carve-out, and no preferential rate. With a top marginal rate of 13.3 percent, a large withdrawal in a single year can cost far more than the same amount spread over two years.

California Charges Its Own Early Withdrawal Penalty

Most people know about the federal 10 percent additional tax for withdrawals before age 59 and a half. Very few know California adds 2.5 percent of its own, reported on Form FTB 3805P. For a SIMPLE plan tapped within the first two years, the California rate climbs to 6 percent against a federal 25 percent. Pulling money early in this state is more expensive than the federal number suggests.
New This Year

The Rule That Changed for High Earners in January

If you are 50 or older and earn well, your catch-up contribution may no longer work the way it did last year.

Under SECURE 2.0, employees whose Social Security wages from their employer exceeded $145,000 in the prior year must now make catch-up contributions as Roth rather than pre-tax. The requirement applies to catch-ups made from 2026 onward, and the wage figure comes from Box 3 of your W-2 for the year before. The threshold moves up over time in $5,000 steps.

The practical effect is a lost deduction in the year you contribute. Someone used to shaving taxable income with a pre-tax catch-up now pays tax on that money first, then enjoys tax-free growth later. Whether that trade helps or hurts depends on your bracket now against your expected bracket in retirement, and in a 13.3 percent state, that calculation is worth running rather than assuming. Some plans without a Roth option have responded by barring catch-ups for affected employees altogether, so it is worth confirming what your plan actually allows.

2026 Limits

What You Can Contribute in 2026

These are the current figures. Note the larger catch-up band that opens between 60 and 63:

Account and Age Base Limit Catch-up
401(k), under 50 $24,500 Not applicable
401(k), age 50 to 59 $24,500 $8,000
401(k), age 60 to 63 $24,500 $11,250
401(k), age 64 and older $24,500 $8,000
IRA, under 50 $7,500 Not applicable
IRA, age 50 and older $7,500 $1,100

The window from 60 to 63 is the single largest contribution opportunity most people ever get, and it closes at 64 when the catch-up drops back. If you are approaching 60, that is a four-year stretch worth planning around deliberately.

Withdrawal Order

Where the Money Comes From Matters as Much as How Much

Two people can retire with identical balances and keep very different amounts, because withdrawal order drives the tax bill.

Most retirees hold three kinds of money. Taxable brokerage accounts, where only the gain is taxed, and long-term gains get better federal treatment. Tax-deferred accounts such as a traditional 401(k) or IRA, where every dollar withdrawn is ordinary income to both the IRS and California. And Roth accounts, where qualified withdrawals are free of both.

Drawing from them in a thoughtful order lets you fill up the lower brackets each year rather than spiking into the top ones. It also creates room for partial Roth conversions in the gap years between retiring and starting required distributions, which for most people now begin at 73. Done well, that gap is where a large share of lifetime tax savings is actually captured.

This planning only works when someone sees the whole return rather than the portfolio alone, which is why it sits next to ongoing tax strategy rather than apart from it.

A Real Example

A Real Example of the Tax Side Doing the Work

A hypothetical couple, with illustrative figures.

Both still working

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Combined income

$ 0

In a traditional 401(k)

$ 0 M

Planned retirement age

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They have a modest brokerage account and almost nothing in a Roth. Three things surface on a tax-first review.

ONE

The 60 to 63 Window

They are in the 60 to 63 window, so each can add $11,250 on top of the $24,500 base this year rather than the $8,000 they assumed. That is a meaningful amount of income sheltered in their highest-earning years, and the window shuts at 64.

TWO

The Roth Catch-Up

One spouse earned more than $145,000 in Social Security wages last year, so that catch-up has to go in as Roth now. It costs them a deduction today, though it quietly fixes the bigger problem, which is that nearly everything they own is tax-deferred.

THREE

The Empty Years

The years between 65 and 73, before required distributions begin, are nearly empty of income. Converting a measured slice to a Roth in each of those years, sized to stop at the top of a chosen bracket, moves money out of the account that California will tax hardest later.

Nothing here involves a different investment. The portfolio is untouched. What changes is which account each dollar sits in and which year it gets taxed, and over a retirement, that difference compounds into real money.

The Question Everyone Asks

Should you leave California before you retire?

This question comes up in nearly every conversation, and the answer is more favorable than most people expect.

California does not tax retirement income received by a nonresident for distributions after December 31, 1995. If you genuinely move away and establish residency elsewhere, California does not reach back to tax the 401(k) you funded while living here. There is no exit tax on retirement accounts.

The catch is the word genuinely. Residency is decided on the facts of your life, not on a mailing address, and California examines these closely when a high earner leaves. Timing also matters, because income received while you are still a resident is taxed as a resident regardless of where you end up. For anyone seriously considering it, this is a decision to plan a year or two ahead rather than in the month you list the house.

Uneven Earnings

Retirement Planning When Your Income Swings

A steady salary makes retirement saving simple. A lot of people in this city do not have one.

When income arrives in bursts, from projects, royalties, commissions, or client work, the right move is to fund heavily in strong years rather than contribute a fixed amount monthly. Self-employed plans such as a solo 401(k) or a SEP allow far larger contributions than a standard IRA, and a good year can shelter a great deal of income if the plan exists before the year closes. For performers and crew with a loan-out corporation, the entity itself changes which plans are available, something our industry-specific accounting work deals with regularly.

The discipline that matters is treating a strong year as the year to fund, instead of the year to assume more will follow.

How It Works

What Working With Us Looks Like

Step 01

A Free Call

What you own, who you want it to go to, and whether you already have documents in place.

Step 02

A Full Picture

Your returns, every account, your expected Social Security, and any pension or property income.

Step 03

The Plan

Contribution targets, a withdrawal order, and any conversion worth doing, each with the tax figure attached.

Step 04

Yearly Review

Because brackets move, the law changes, and your plans change with them.

Step 05

Execution

Alongside your filing, the strategy and the return are handled by the same CPA.

Who It Is For

Who We Help

High Earners Nearing Retirement

Within ten to fifteen years of retiring, where decisions still have time to compound.

Business Owners

Deciding between a solo 401(k), a SEP, or a defined benefit plan.

Tax-Deferred Heavy Savers

People holding most of their wealth in tax-deferred accounts who want to spread the exposure.

Anyone Considering a Move

Weighing leaving California and wanting the residency and timing done properly.

Variable Income Earners

Performers, writers, and crew with variable income and a loan-out corporation.

Households Wanting It Joined Up

Retirement planned alongside the wider financial picture rather than in isolation.
Service Area

Working With Clients Across Los Angeles

Our office sits on Ventura Boulevard in Encino, at Suite 700, 16133 Ventura Blvd, CA 91436. Clients come from across the county, from the Valley communities nearby to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Culver City, Pasadena, and Glendale. Meetings happen by video and phone as often as in person, so distance rarely decides anything.

Retirement work tends to raise questions about what happens to the money afterward, and about the return itself. Both are handled in the same office, whether that means passing assets on or simply your annual filing.

Eric M Hunt, CPA | Los Angeles, CA

Is your retirement money sitting in the account California taxes hardest?

Most savers build one large tax-deferred balance and never plan the withdrawal order. In a state with a 13.3 percent top rate, that decision shapes what you actually keep. Eric maps the contribution targets, the draw sequence, and any conversion worth making, with the tax figure attached to each one.

Schedule a Free Consultation Call 213-753-1219 eric@ehuntcpa.com

Years of Experience

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Satisfied Clients

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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Pricing tracks transaction volume rather than company size, so a quote depends on how many monthly transactions you have, how many accounts need reconciling, and whether payroll and sales tax are included. Catch-up work on books that are behind is quoted separately as a one-time project. You get the figure in writing before work starts, and the first call is free.
California applies an additional tax of 2.5 percent on early distributions, on top of the federal 10 percent, for withdrawals before age 59 and a half. It is reported on form FTB 3805P. For a SIMPLE plan accessed within the first two years, California charges 6 percent against a federal 25 percent.
You do if your Social Security wages from your employer were above $145,000 in the prior year and you are 50 or older. The requirement began with catch-up contributions made in 2026, and the figure comes from Box 3 of your W-2 for the year before. If your plan has no Roth option, it may prevent affected employees from making catch-ups at all, so confirm what your plan permits.
The base limit is $24,500. Those aged 50 to 59 or 64 and over can add $8,000. Between ages 60 and 63 the catch-up rises to $11,250, which is the largest contribution window most people get. IRA contributions are $7,500 with a further $1,100 from age 50.
No. California does not tax retirement income received by a nonresident for distributions after December 31, 1995, so there is no exit tax on the account. What matters is that the move is genuine and residency is properly established, since California reviews departures by high earners carefully, and anything received while you are still a resident remains taxable here.
For most people retiring now, required distributions begin at age 73, and the starting age rises for younger savers. The years between leaving work and that first required distribution are usually the lowest income years of a retirement, which makes them the natural window for Roth conversions at a controlled rate.
No. Many firms screen by investable assets, which turns away people whose decisions still have fifteen years to compound. We charge for the planning work rather than for managing a balance, so the help is available while it can still change the outcome.

Put the Tax Plan Around the Savings

If you want a retirement planning expert in Los Angeles who starts with how California will tax every dollar you withdraw, book a free call with Eric M Hunt, CPA.

Book Your Free Call Call 213-753-1219