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Spreadsheet from Cody & Sean's book?

Charlotte 1,463 XP · Mar 30, 2026 · 9 replies

Hi everyone! In their book "Tax Planning to and through Early Retirement," Cody Garrett & Sean Mullaney mention creating a spreadsheet in chapter 36 to track cap gains/losses for EOY tax planning, deciding whether to do a Roth conversion, etc. Has anyone already created a spreadsheet like this that they would be willing to share?

They also mention current year tax planning software for this same purpose. Any recommendations?

We are retiring in May and this part of retirement feels foggy to me- I'd like to get a better grasp on it. Thanks all!

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Replies (9)

Stacy Coleman

55 XP

6 months ago

Great idea to ask. Please let us know what you find if the resource is not on here. Thanks!

MartyJo

115 XP

7 months ago

For current year tax planning we have really like the calculation sheets from

Financial Calculators from Dinkytown.net

Financial calculators from Dinkytown.net are the best way to start almost any financial analysis. Simple to use, complete and thorough analysis. Use them at www.dinkytown.net or put them on your website!

www.dinkytown.net

Charlotte

1,120 XP

7 months ago

This is what I was looking for- thank you so much!

BostonFI

5,244 XP

7 months ago

I use the YTD tax information available on my brokerage's website. At Fidelity this is available under Accounts & Trade > Tax Forms & Information > View your YTD tax activity. You can also navigate to a particular account and use the on-screen tabs: More > Tax Info YTD.

For deciding on Roth conversion amount, I have a subscription to Projection Lab which has a tool for this. I believe Boldin also has a tool for Roth conversions. In the past I've seen some ChooseFI members mention they use their regular tax software (TurboTax, H&R Block, etc.) and input as much information as they have or can estimate.

Can I model Roth Conversions? - ProjectionLab

You can model Roth Conversions using the Optimize feature, choosing from tax strategies to minimize lifetime taxes, increase net legacy, and more.

ProjectionLab

Charlotte

1,120 XP

7 months ago

Thank you! So basically- you add your income + interest from HYSA + what you see on your YTD statement at your brokerage, and that should give you a close enough approximation?

BostonFI

5,244 XP

7 months ago

I'm still working so my main source of income is still a W2, but after retiring (next year) that source will be replaced by retirement account distributions and withdrawals from taxable. Other sources both now and later are LTCG and qualified dividends and also STCG and ordinary dividends (aka interest). Eventually, a pension and social security will be added to the mix.

I use MMFs in a brokerage account for savings and checking instead of a HYSA. So the "interest" I earn is just ordinary dividends included in the YTD tax information.

I do use a spreadsheet to calculate tax so I can account for the different tax brackets for ordinary income versus LTCG and qualified dividends and also so I can track through the year if my W-4 withholding (later my estimated payments) is sufficient. My spreadsheet isn't in a sharable state though.

Charlotte

1,120 XP

7 months ago

This is helpful. Thank you- and congrats on retirement next year!

JoeQ17

1,527 XP

7 months ago

ChatGPT for current year tax planning and deciding on Roth conversions works pretty well. Always double check. Suggest waiting till later in year until ultimately doing the conversion so you are confident in yearly income amounts. Can also have it maximize with ACA coverage and capital gain harvesting at 0% all together.

The great part of using ChatGPT is prompt it to not just run the numbers but explain for educational growth and it will walk you through the why and not just the numbers.

as for spreadsheet on gain loss, the main players (Schwab, vanguard…) have a screen for this. Look for realized gain / loss report.

Charlotte

1,120 XP

7 months ago

Thanks!

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Spreadsheet from Cody & Sean's book?

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