Chen & Mei
Dual-Income Tech Couple · Seattle, WA · Age 36
Married Filing JointlyIncome: $640KTechCouples
“Nobody looked at us as a unit. That was the whole problem.”
The Situation
$380K (Chen, Staff Engineer) + $260K (Mei, Product Manager)
Both have RSUs vesting ($200K combined)
WA resident (no state income tax, but 7% cap gains tax on gains > $270K)
Strategies Identified
1. Coordinated RSU Sell Strategy
IRC §1(h)
$22,400
Stagger RSU sales across both spouses to stay under WA $270K cap gains threshold.
2. Mega Backdoor Roth (Both)
IRC §415(c)
$18,600
Both employers allow after-tax. $92K combined into Roth annually.
3. Tax-Loss Harvesting
IRC §1211
$14,200
Systematic TLH in joint brokerage. Offset $200K in RSU gains.
4. HSA Max + Investment
IRC §223
$8,800
Family HDHP. Max HSA at $8,750, invest in index funds. Triple tax advantage.
Tax Impact
Before
$215,000
→
After
$151,000
Annual Savings
$64,000
30% reduction
Action Steps
1
Build a coordinated RSU sell calendar for both spouses
2
Verify both employers allow after-tax 401(k) contributions
3
Open joint brokerage at Fidelity for systematic TLH
4
Switch to family HDHP at next open enrollment
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