The Hidden Tax That Punishes FIRE Withdrawals

In this episode of The FIRE Podcast, Lucas and Luna dig into a little-known tax trap for early retirees: the net investment income tax, or NIIT. That extra 3.8 percent surtax on investment income kicks in above $200,000 of modified adjusted gross income, and it can quietly eat into your withdrawal plan just when you think you've got your sequence risk handled. They break down how the threshold works, why it's a sneaky problem for coupling tax-loss harvesting with a Roth conversion ladder, and how a simple bunching strategy for gains can shrink its bite. You'll hear a concrete example: a couple with $80,000 in capital gains and $12,000 in dividends on top of $140,000 of other income — and how shifting that gain to a different year saves them nearly $3,000. It's not a doomsday warning; it's a practical fix. If you're living off investments in early retirement, this episode gives you one number and one strategy to tighten your plan. #NetInvestmentIncomeTax #NIIT #FireTaxStrategy #EarlyRetirementTax #CapitalGainsTax #FireWithdrawal #RothConversion #TaxLossHarvesting #FirePlanning #PassiveIncomeTax #FirePodcast #LucasAndLuna #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #PersonalFinance #RetirementPlanning #Investing #TaxPlanning Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo